


Disharmony (Yandere! Broadway CharactersXReader One-shots) Requests are Open

by captain_violets



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Heathers, Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), The Lightning Thief - Rokicki/Tracz
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M, Musicals, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Yandere, yandere one-shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14639385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_violets/pseuds/captain_violets
Summary: Character: Luke CastellanMusical: The Lightning ThiefLine Inspiration: "So I'll do anything, I don't care if I hurt anyone, It doesn't pay to be a good kid, a good son!"Season: SummerSo I wanted to mostly keep the story contained to musical Luke, but since he wasn't in the musical too much I decided to use the Percy Jackson book series too, so this story will take place at the start of the Lightning Thief and ends around the beginning of the Last Olympian (give or take) Also Luke's age is kind of debatable, but for this story he's about 17 at the start and in his 20s by the end. Also, the chapter gets kinda NSFW at the end, so consider this your warning.)





	1. Chapter 1

"Roxie? Roxie are you in there?"

        Timidly you knocked on the door once more, softly, but loud enough to be heard. Your friend Roxie lived in a rather small house all by herself, and it certainly wasn't in the safest part of town, but considering the town the two of you lived in one would be hard-pressed to find about anywhere to live that could reasonably be called "safe". Biting your lower lip nervously you knocked one last time.

"Roxie, I'm coming in alright?"

        Pushing open the unlocked door you were hit by a foul odor even before you entered the house, a stench unpleasant, but not necessarily unexpected. The apartment was cramped, unclean, poorly lit, and didn't look like the kind of place anyone in their right mind would want to step foot in, let alone live in, but you showed up, you persisted nonetheless. 

"Roxie? Are you in here? It's me, (y/n) I just stopped by to bring you some food and to check up."

        You placed the brown paper bag you brought with you on a countertop in the small kitchen, if you could call it that. The kitchen was really nothing more than a minifridge, a hot plate, a microwave and a garbage can. All which you instantly noticed were covered with a sizable layer of dust. 'She must not be eating well...' you thought, and if you were to guess that minifridge was probably brimming with old take away containers and other empty calorie foods.

        Eventually, you made your way to the part of the apartment you knew as Roxie's room and sighed heavily to yourself. The first thing you saw was Roxie herself laying on a messy, unmade bed, but more importantly on the floor below the bed lay a collection of small, empty vials. Even though the tubes were all empty, you knew exactly what they had been filled with. One of the most addictive, life-ruining kind of drugs one could get their hands on, Zydrate. Quietly you began to gather up the tiny tubes in your hands before discarding them into an overflowing trash can in the corner of the room. Holding your breath slightly so as not to endure the wretched smell of the trash. A light stirring sounded from Roxie's bed, turning to look at her you noticed how out of it she looked. Cautiously you walked over to her, careful not to accidentally startle her.

"Hey Roxie, how did you rest?"

"(Y/n)? What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"

        You did your best to smile, but you were distracted by the dark bags under her tired looking eyes and unhealthy pale complexion. 

"Just barely got here, I wanted to check up on you, it's been awhile since we've talked, and I wanted to make sure you were doing ok."

"Why would you need to do that? I mean thank you, but I'm fine."

        Sighing your smile faded into a serious and stern look, 

"Roxie, I know that's not true, I saw the Zydrate bottles on the floor..."

        Instantly tears began to well up in your friend's eyes and you regretting bringing the subject up in such a confrontational way. Pulling the girl into a hug you tried to calm her down a bit, rubbing calming circles on her back, and allowing her to get her emotions out. 

"(y/n) I'm so sorry! I know you told me about how bad this stuff is, but I can't help it! Life's just become so hard for me, the Zydrate is the only thing that keeps me going! You have to understand, I'm trying as hard as I can to quit, but I just don't know what to do without my fix!"

"Hey, it's ok, I know you're trying so hard. This stuff isn't easy to kick, but Roxie you need to believe me when I saw there are more important things in life than this stuff. But I have to ask, how did you get hooked in the first place?"

        She pulled away from you, gray eyes bleary, still sniffling,

"Well, you know how I used to work at the clothing boutique? You remember right, the one that used to help supply outfits for the opera?"

        You couldn't help but cringe slightly at the mention of the opera. To put it bluntly, you weren't a fan of that place, it was just a bunch of druggies looking to waste their own time before their next fix. The only people who regularly visited the opera were nothing more than degenerates in your eyes. But you nodded and allowed her to continue,

"Well, you see this one day me and my co-workers were working late finishing up an order. Like, really late, as in it was almost 3 AM by the time we were finally wrapping things up, but anyway, so one of my friends, Amber Sweet, she pulled out a little vial of Zydrate. And, I know I should've said no, and I know how bad you say this stuff is, but all the other girls were taking a hit, and... I didn't think just one little hit wouldn't really do any damage, so when they passed me a vial..."

"Oh, Roxie..."

        Fresh tears began to pour down the sides of her cheeks,

"I know, I know, I'm a total idiot, and I should've just listened to you, and I-"

"Hey."

        You cut her off before she could keep going, and cupped your hands around her cheeks, trying to soothe the poor girl,

"Look, I know you just want to go back and undo it all, we all have those moments in life. But the fact is, you can't. The best you can do now is try and not to repeat the same mistakes you made before. It's not going to be easy, but if you ever feel like you want to take another hit, just call me! I'll always be here for you."

        You smiled and pulled her into one last hug. Roxie and you went way back, she was one of the first people you meant in high school, and was far and away from your best friend all four years. It was just so unfortunate that after graduation things didn't seem to work out so evenly for the two of you.

        Currently, the two of you were both 22, and you'd managed to get a decently paying job working for a group of humanitarians who worked to help people addicted the Zydrate to kick their addiction and to help others with organ transplants from GeneCo to find work and to help pay off their debts. You'd never imagined that your work would bring you here to your own best friend, a girl who used to have so much potential, so much creativity, and promise, now a strung-out addict, but you were more determined than ever to help your friend turn her life around, no matter what. 

        After the two of you talked a little longer you decided it would be beneficial to spend the rest of the day cleaning up her house. As you were cleaning up her kitchen, mostly throwing away old, spoiled foods and cleaning up gross moldy stains you decided to continue talking together a bit longer. 

"Hey, Roxie can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing, what is it?"

"Well, I mean you don't have to answer if this is too personal, but can I just ask you, who is your dealer? For the Zydrate I mean."

"Well, I don't know his actual name, but I know he goes by the name, Graverobber. No one knows his real name, but he's one of the biggest dealers in this town."

"Really? He's that high profile?"

"Oh yeah, he's been a part of this business for a long time now."

"Do you know how he got in this business?"

"Well, not anything from him directly, but I've heard from others that he got into Zydrate peddling because he was looking to keep this girl he was interested in supplied."

"Do you think they're still together?"

"I mean they might be? In all honesty, he never struck me as the type to be interested in one girl. He's kind of dark and mysterious  in that way~"

"Oh my gosh Roxie, please tell me you don't think he's cute!"

        She didn't say anything back to you, just giggled and continued cleaning, you rolled your eyes and thought to yourself, 'Interesting, it may be worth my time to try and find this guy.' Of course, you didn't tell Roxie this. Zydrate dealing was far from safe places for anyone to be, buying, dealing, or even as a mear bystander, there's no way Roxie would want you in a place like that, but you were going to cut her off of this stuff one way or another.

        That night you set out to find this "Graverobber" by yourself. You weren't exactly the kind of person who would ever so much as think of leaving the house after dark, but now that you had a mission, you weren't afraid to do whatever it took to help your dear friend. To your relief, it didn't actually take too long to find the alley where Roxie told you Graverobber typically delt. You were a little less relieved when you drew a little closer to the alley and discovered just how putrid and filthy the place was. 

        The tiny, claustrophobic space was filled with the unwashed bodies of addicts, probably so dead as well as alive, and the distinct odor of Zydrate lingering in the air, the kind of perfect mixture of different sents which revolted you in a special kind of way. Still, despite all your disgust, you couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the people in the alley. It wasn't their fault they were stuck addicted with no way out. You pulled the small slip of white paper from your coat pocket, on the slip you'd written down the name of the ally Roxie told you she typically bought from, as well a the name of her dealer.

"Alright looks like I've found the place, just need to find Graverobber and I'll be all done here."

"Consider him foud."

        Startled by the intrusive stranger you looked up from your paper and realized you were about to walk right into the stranger. You took a few steps back out of instinct and looked back up at the man with a puzzled expression on your face, 

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Well, you said you were looking for Graverobber right?"

"Um, yeah I am."

"Well then, pleased to make your acquaintance miss!"

        The person now dubbed "Graverobber" extended a black-gloved hand out to you, hesitantly you extended your own hand and shook his, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Still, you tried to ignore your nervousness and just focus on the task at hand.

"Charmed... But, you're telling me that you're Graverobber?"

"That I am miss? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Right, I was just about to get into that! Ok, so you know this girl you're the supplier for Roxie?"

        Graverobber raised an eyebrow skeptically,

"I don't know if you're aware, but I'm a dealer for a lot of people around here, I'm gonna need you to be a bit more specific here."

"She's about my height, gray eyes, thin blond hair? I swear you probably saw here just last night-"

"Oh please, I see a lot of lovely ladies any given night! It's almost like they're willing to get hooked on Zydrate just to see this beautiful face. Were you by any chance looking to make a purchase?"

        The man pulled a tiny vial, the same ones you remembered seeing littered all over your friend's floor when you saw her that morning, only his vial was filled with an electric blue substance which eminated a soft alluring blue light. You rolled your eyes at his pathetic vanity, you could tell just by looking at him he was indeed, very attractive. Long dark hair, clear pale skin, sharp dark eyes, all of which were fine on their own, but what really made Graverobber stand out so was that damned smile! It was so confident and attractive, not what you would ever expect to see from someone who identified as a Zydrate dealer, but still, you weren't about to let some cocky pretty boy get the best of you.

"I think you should know better than anyone that no one chooses to get hooked on this stuff! No one is worth the hell these things bring to people, certainly not someone like you."

"Aw, c'mon why so serious? Surely you don't find me all that... vial?"

        He emphasized the final word by lifting up the vial in his hands, before laughing at his own dumb joke. You groaned, 'Please don't tell me Roxie actually bought into this guy's act? Or heaven forbid actually found him attractive?' You mentally pleaded with yourself before speaking again,

"Look, I didn't come here to buy anything, I came to make a request."

        He seemed a bit surprised by your confidence,

"Oh really now? And just who do you think you are to show up to my turf and to start making demands?"

"I'm a friend, of Roxie's. Here, if you're really having so much trouble remembering her I brought a picture of her with me."

        You pulled out your phone, unlocked it and pulled up a picture of your friend. True the picture was taken of her before she began to really suffer the consequences of her Zydrate addiction, but it was close enough to portray her likeness. You handed the phone over to Graverobber who took the small gadget in his hands, it seemed the picture helped and there was a small but evident "ah-ha!" expression on his face.

"So I do know her! Yeah, she'd pretty much a regular around these parts, but what's it to you? And why did you feel the need to see me about it."

"I'm here to tell you to cut her off. I don't care what she offers you, do not under any condition sell anything to her. Not Zydrate, nor any other drug you peddle. Don't even set eyes on her again for all I care."

        Graverobber's smile disappeared and a humorless sneer settled in its place,

"Look, girl, I get it, you're only looking out for your friend, but I'm afraid I can't do that. You see Roxie hasn't paid for all the Zydrate she buys from me, and I'm not about to just absolve her of her debt because you tell me to."

        You sighed digging into your pocket,

"I'm afraid something like this would happen, but I came prepared. How much do you think she owes you?"

        Graverobber pulled some odd device out of his pocket which looked something like a mix between a cellphone and a calculator, and began pressing some buttons on the keypad and tapped something on the screen before replying to you,

"Well according to my estimate, she currently owes me about seven hundred fifty-four, including interest."

        After a little more digging you pulled your wallet out of your pocket, you'd stopped at the bank on your way over to the ally and in that one wallet you held just over half of all the money to your name. You had the money to pay off your friend's debt, it would make the time before your next paycheck difficult, but you would make it, something Roxie couldn't, and because of that, you handed the money over to Graverobber without a second thought.

"Ok, this should cover her tab. Now, don't ever talk to her again."

        To say Graverobber was shaken by your action was an understatement, he'd never seen someone cover someone else's debt without complaints like you just did. For so long he'd seen people take advantage of others to get ahead in life and do whatever it took to get their next fix, it seemed morality and consideration were a dying breed around this city. He numbly accepted the money you handed over to him, still double checking to make sure you weren't shortchanging him.

"Is that enough to cover everything?"

"Y-yeah it is, but I have to ask, who are you? Why would you do something so big for a friend?"

"You don't need to know my name, I'm not looking to get mixed up with people like you. But if you must know, why, well it's because I care about my friend. I don't want her to go through the relentless hell of drug addiction. This... this sort of thing hits close to home for me, and I just want to do whatever I can to make sure she's ok."

"Close to home?"

        You were a little surprised to see Graverobber looked so interested in your story. In your city, just as many people were opposed to the usage of Zydrate as there were people who used the stuff regularly, and you just couldn't understand what made you so special.

"Well yeah, ever since I could remember my parents were addicted to this stuff. I hated the way the drug changed them, my older siblings told me they used to be more lively, used to care for us, but after they formed a full-on addiction... All of that seemed to stop. All they cared about was getting their next supply. That's why I ran away, I just couldn't deal with them anymore. What you peddle brings nothing but suffering, any sane person wouldn't want this for their friend."

        And with that you turned away from the repulsive alleyway and began sprinting back home, Graverobber was a little offended you just left so out of nowhere like that and tried to chase after you for a little while, but couldn't catch up, and eventually fell off your trail entirely. While he couldn't quite explain why there was a strange fascination you awakened within Graverobber. Not only were you far and away the most moral person he'd ever met, but there was something about your fierce loyalty to your friend, the way you were willing to do anything for her, it was, attractive to say the least. Graverobber might not have understood exactly what he was feeling, but he certainly had his eye on you and was itching to see you again.

        Later that night after you returned home you began to settle into your nightly routine, a ritual of sorts before you went to bed. First, you undressed and hopped into the shower, wanting to wash away the rot and stink of Graverobber's ally as soon as possible. After changing into some more comfortable night clothes you took out your nightly medication. A little secret of you never told anyone was the epidemic of organ failure effected you as well, and while it didn't claim your life the moment you discovered your heart had issues you still took medicine regularly to keep from succumbing to your condition. Before you could pull all your medications away you heard a knock at the door, cautiously you approached, not expecting any visitors at this hour, you were nervous to open the door to anyone. 

        But sure enough, when you did open up you were relieved to see the person knocking was just Roxie. She looked at you with an awkward half smile. To your relief she looked better than when you first saw her, like she had put on clean clothes, showered, etc. needless to say, you were happy to see her.

"Hey (y/n)."

"Hi, Roxie! What are you doing over here so late? Is there something wrong?"

        She shook her head,

"No, no, nothing like that, it's just I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me. You're such a good friend, and I don't know where I'd be without you!"

        She embraced you in a tight hug which you happily returned.

"Oh Roxie, you know I'll always be here for you, why don't you come in for a while? I'll fix us some tea."

        You lead Roxie into your home, closing the door behind you, making your way into the kitchen you filled the kettle with water before turning on the stove. You turned back around to offer Roxie something to eat when you saw she was staring directly at your heart medication.

"(y/n), what is all this?"

        Biting your lip nervously you chided yourself for not thinking ahead and pulling that stuff away before answering the door but knew you could easily explain all of this.

"Oh all that stuff, it's just for my heart."

"Your heart?"

"Yeah, um, well you see ever since I was a kid I've had a weak heart you know? It started out with just a slight murmur, but over time things have begun to get a bit more, intense."

"Why don't you just get a transplant? You seem like you could certainly afford something like that."

        You had to laugh at this,

"Yeah, gonna have to say no here, I don't care if I could afford the transplant, I am not going to risk my life paying off a tab for a transplant. I've heard the contracts worked out by the people at Geneco aren't always worked out through exchanging money, I heard they ask for all sorts of gross payments for surgeries. It's just not something I'm willing to risk."

        Roxie looked at you with clear concern in her eyes, 

"But this is your health we're talking about here! Something like this could kill you if you're not careful, you're taking a whole other risk choosing not to opt for a transfer at all!"

        You sighed, pouring out a cup of tea for  the two of you, 

"Maybe so, but believe me, I would rather take this risk over anything else."

        Roxie didn't seem to like your answer much, but she didn't press you on the matter any further, to your relief. The two of you visited a little while longer, and you promised to check up on here every Sunday from here on out, and she promised you she would try to find a new job, away from addicts as soon as she could. She was packing up to leave you when you stopped her,

"Hey Roxie, before you go I just want you to promise me one last thing."

"Yes, of course, what is it?"

"I want you to never, ever step foot in that alley ever again, and I want you to promise me that you'll never ever talk to Graverobber either. I don't care what he promises you, just walk away. Understood?"

        She nodded,

"Right! Consider it done!'

        With that, your friend left you for the night. Happy to see your friend was finally doing better you returned to getting ready for bed, putting the cups the two of you used for tea away and with that returning to slumber for the rest of the night. 

((Roxie's POV))

        While you were drifting off to sleep that night things weren't going so well over at Roxie's place, it seemed as though no matter how hard she tried she simply couldn't fall asleep. She was about to reach out and try to call you when she stopped herself. 'No, she's probably already asleep by now...' With nothing left to do Roxie couldn't help but think of how wonderful it would be just to have one little shot of Zydrate before bed. She rationalized with herself that she was only having one little shot, and since she wasn't planning some huge bender she would be ok. 

        Without another thought on the matter, she grabbed her jacket and made her way out of the house, and into the direction of the alley she knew Graverobber dwelled in. 'Look it'll just be one last little hit, after this no more. I just want one last time... Then I'll quit for sure!' The entire walk down to the alleyway Roxie continued to think up excuses and reasons why there was nothing wrong with what she was doing. 

        It wasn't long until Roxie made her way down to the alley, leaning up against the side of the alley was none other than the infamous dealer Graverobber himself. She didn't know what to say, but Graverobber spoke before she could even think of what to say.

"Well, you're later than usual. Did work keep you late?"

        Roxie was about to speak up when Graverobber continued,

"Oh wait, that's right, you don't have a job. So what's it gonna be this time?"

"I-I just want one vial, I'm going to quit after this one, I swear. I just want one last little hit, nothing more."

"Well, what if I told you I'll offer you 3 for the price of none?"

"H-huh? You're giving them out for free?"

        Graverobber chuckled placing the three vials he used to tempt Roxie back into his pocket,

"Free? No, but what I ask for in return isn't money. It's information."

"Information? But on what? It's not like I would know anything relevant to you..."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong you see, I think you're selling yourself short here, I think you just might  be very useful to me yet."

        Roxie knew this was a dangerous situation, one she knew you wouldn't want her in, but still, she just couldn't help it, the allure of the Zydrate seemed to bring out the worst in her addiction, and the sight of the three little bottles in Graverobbers hands nearly had her salivating. He continued,

"You see a friend of yours stopped by earlier today, she was the one who wanted you to stay away from this place, to stay away from Zydrate, to stay away from me. What was her name?"

"(y/n)."

        Roxie spoke your name before considering what consequences would happen to either her or you now that this guy knew your name. Nevertheless, Graverobber was pleased with her compliance.

"Very good. Where does she live?"

        Once more Roxie answered. This sort of sort questioning an answering continued a short while longer, the guilt of possibly selling out her friend to such a suspicious person never once leaving her. 

"Alright, you've answered everything I needed to know, so I'll ask you one final question, do you know anything about (y/n)'s medical history?"

"I don't know if this helps any, but I do know she has a weak heart."

"A weak heart? Then why doesn't she just get a transplant?"

"Well, you see I think she's afraid of signing a contract she knows she can't pay off. Also, all her life she's been scared of hospitals and stuff, so I don't think she'd feel too comfortable in a place like that."

        'This seems like something I can use' Graverobber thought to himself before handing over the three vials of Zydrate to Roxie, who greedily took them into her hands before scurrying off back home. Graverobber chuckled to himself, ' it really is amusing how pathetically trusting and thoughtless these addicts are.' before slinking back into the shadows.

        The next day you didn't feel the need to go out and see Roxie in the morning, you figured she seemed alright when you left her that night, so you'd wait until late afternoon, after work, to go check up on her. The rest of the day played out rather monotonously and much more boring than the day before, and after work, you drove straight from your work over to Roxie's place.

"Hey, Roxie it's me (y/n)! Open up!"

        You knocked on the door expecting her to answer instantly once you said your name, but to your surprise, the door remained shut. There wasn't even any noise to be heard from the other side of the door! A little less sure of Roxie's safety you knocked once again,

"Roxie are you in there? Hey, open up!"

        'Maybe she's just stepped out?' You thought half-heartily to yourself, but you knew it wasn't that. Without waiting any longer you opened the door and stepped inside. 

"Roxie are you in here? Look I just want to see how you're-"

        Your words died in your throat the moment you laid eyes on Roxie's unmoving dead body. You knew instantly that Roxie was dead and not asleep when you saw her eyes were glazed over, no doubt about it she was unmistakably dead. The sight of three empty Zydrate vials beside her broke your heart, and unable to stop them you felt tears well up in your eyes. The sight of Roxie broke your heart, but the bottles incited no emotion other than pure hatred. 

        You were so mad at the sight of the vials you raised your foot, ready to stomp and crush the little thing when something about it caught your attention. You'd seen countless Zydrate bottles over the years, but there was something very different about this one, usually there was an electric blue residue left on the bottles, as the Zydrate itself was an obnoxiously oversaturated blue, but there was something very wrong about the residue left on this vial, instead of bright blue, the residue left behind on this one looked, greener than you'd ever seen before. Picking up another vial to compare the two you were now certain there was something wrong with this vial, and whatever it was likely killed your friend.

        Wasting no more time you shoved the vial into your pocket and sprinted down to the alleyway you saw Graverobber in just a night before. By the time you arrived at the site, you were both a little surprised and angry to see Graverobber was there waiting for you, still with that disgusting smile on his face. 

"(y/n) What a pleasure and delight it is to see you so soon!"

        A red flag went off in your head when you realized that somehow this psycho had managed o learn your name, but you weren't about to let him intimidate you, there was just too much at stake.

"Graverobber, do you want to tell me what the hell this was doing in Roxie's apartment!"

        You shouted in his face before thrusting the vial into his hand. He barely looked at the little thing,

"There are plenty of dealers around here, what makes you so sure I'm the one responsible for all of this?"

        Tears of anger threatened to fall, but you grit your teeth and didn't dare let your vulnerability show.

"Don't you bullshit me! I know you had something to do with this! I told you to never talk to her again, why would you do something like this!"

        He didn't seem very intimidated by your words, his stupid smirk never once left his face,

"Well, in all honesty, my dear, I only bothered to see that boring wench again because I figured if she died you would blame me, and you would come back to me. And well here you are! Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful when you're angry?"

        His words left you speechless, 'this can't be the truth, there's no way someone could be so har gone as to do something as low as this...' you tried to rationalize to yourself, but you knew the moment you met him there was something very wrong with this guy.

"How could you say something like that!? Do you not even care about what you've done? For the love of god, you killed her you monster!"

"Monster? Little old me? No, I'm more a lover than a fighter, I'm sure you'll see."

"I'll see?"

        It was only now that you noticed he was slowly drawing closer to you, instinctually you took a couple steps back, only to feel your back connect with a brick wall, halting you from moving any further away. Before you could run away Graverobber moved even quicker and trapped you in his arms, you were virtually stuck motionless, the two of your faces closer than ever before.

"Yeah, you'll see I guess you can say I'm more than a little interested in you love, and I think it would be in your best interest to agree."

        You glared back at him,

"Oh really? Well, what if I say no?"

        Graverobber chucked a dark unappealing sound which caused shivers to tingle down your spine.

"I was so, so hoping you would ask!"

        You watched as he pulled something out of his pocket before using his other hand to pinch down on your nose, cutting off your oxygen supply. For a moment you tried to struggle free but it was clear you had no way out of this situation and if you didn't stop struggling soon you were at the risk of suffocating. But the time tiny black spots began to cloud your vision and you eventually submitted to Graverobber, opened your mouth to let in some precious air. In the blink of an eye, Graverobber forced a pill into your mouth before clamping down on your mouth to make sure you wouldn't spit it out, not moving until he was sure you'd swallowed. 

        The instant you felt the pill slide down your throat you felt lightheaded and found yourself unable to stand on your own two feet. You swayed forward and found yourself caught by Graverobber who picked you up in his arms, placed a soft, kiss on your motionless lips before whispering,

"Don't worry darling, I promise you'll awaken again soon, just let the pill kick in and this will all be over before you know it."

        You tried to squirm your way out of his arms, but the effects of the pill were becoming more and more potent, and within another minute you found yourself fast asleep in his arms. Cuddled up to his chest like some good little pet. 

        You weren't sure how long you'd been out for, but by the time you found yourself awake, you instantly realized you were stuck in some kind of hospital bed.

"W-what in the- how did I get here?"

"Hello again!"

        Darting your head over to the direction of the voice, you felt your blood turn to ice as you looked over at none other than the demon himself Graverobber. You tried to struggle out of the bed only to discover your arms and legs were bound down with leather.

"Aw, are you that happy to see me?"

"I am not! Why am I tied up like this?"

"Well at first you weren't, but you see the doctors were complaining about how you kept struggling in your operation so we had to switch out your bed with this one. The doctors were impressed really, it's not common to see one try and put up an impossible fight the way you did. I always knew there was something special about you~"

        Instantly your squirming stopped, and a cold sweat began to break out along your forehead and the back of your neck.

"M-my what?"

 "Operation! You know that pesky weak heart of yours? We had to get it out as soon as possible, luckily for us, we just so happened upon an apt donner. Perhaps you've heard of her, Roxie was her name, I think?"

        Your eyes widened with fear,

"You're lying!"

"Oh am I? I'd be more than happy to take you to her body if you don't believe me."

"No! I-I believe you!"

"Good, now, since I worked so hard to get you that new heard of yours, I think I deserve a reward for all my efforts don't you think?"

        Without wasting another second Graverobber crushed his lips against yours, reveling in the sensation of at last dominating what he has yearned for too long. You tried to move your head away, but he kept your head in place but cupping both your cheeks in his hands, still covered by black leather gloves, only now you noticed the distinct smell of blood emanating from the garment.

        He continued to kiss you, and you knew he wanted you to join it, but you weren't yet comfortable giving in yet and tried to remain motionless, it was only when the pressure on the sides of your face began to increase that you decided to join in. Happy to see you were making things easier he ran his tongue along your lower lip, and you allowed his tongue to pass through your lips and into your mouth.

        The two of you stayed like this for a moment before he broke away, wiping away the saliva which connected your mouths with his thumb. 

"You know my sweet, I've heard that certain people are genetically more likely to be addicted to certain things over others."

        You tried desperately not to show any weakness as he continued to torment your body, rolling his tongue of the thin skin of your neck, teasingly occasionally grazing his teeth across your skin as well. You were helpless to stop him, you were strapped down, and were past the point where you could deny the pleasure running through your veins. He could so easily just rip off your clothes and get exactly what he wanted, but he relished in making you wait for him to make the next move. 

        His hands slowly slithered to life, making their way over the still clothed contours of your body. He massaged the flesh of your shoulders lightly before turning his attention to unbuttoning your shirt. 

        You tried to wriggle around on the bed below him, doing whatever you could, no matter how small to make this a bit more difficult for him. Your efforts were in vain however as when he couldn't quite unbutton the garment he simply pulled the two sides of the shirt apart until the buttons popped off, scattering across the floor. You gasped as the cold air hit your skin, Graverobber chuckling slightly as he turned his attention down to the space between your breasts, just above where your new hear lay, softly he kissed the spot.

        You flinched a little when he picked his head up away from your chest gazing back at you with dark bedroom eyes. 'Or would this technically be recovery room eyes?' You thought to yourself for a split second before feeling him lightly kiss your lower lip.

"I would say I'm absolutely addicted to you, and whether or not you're going to have to feel the same whether you like it or not."


	2. Looking for Something (JD)

((A/N: In this version of the story Veronica distances herself from JD after the murder of Heather Chandler, in an act to save herself from his violence, she figured that even though she wasn't caught by the police this time if she stuck around with JD for too long she would end up in deep trouble. Also with Heather C gone Veronica continues to hang out with the Heathers, while at first, she wanted to make the school a better place for everyone she discovers it's not worth it, and since she'll be graduating soon she decides it would be in her best interest to avoid JD and to go her own separate way.))

                                                                        ((JD's POV))                        

        Everyone gets addicted to something that helps take away the pain of life. While he may only be a high schooler JD knew this single principle to ring true for all people, adults, teenagers, even in some young kids, age didn't really matter because no matter how old a person was they were stuck living on this ugly, chaotic world until the bitter end. Now that Veronica was gone JD was in a bad place mentally, nothing in life felt like it was worth living for, and no matter how he tried to cope with the emptiness that plagued his heart it was all for not, and he was stuck in the same place at the end of the day. 

        One day while JD sat zoning out at lunch he saw a student out of the corner of his eye getting hassled by some catty girls who were mocking the girl for her out of style clothing and boring looks. 'Looks like the Heathers 2.0 are beginning a new reign of pettiness, how unsurprising' JD thought bitterly trying to turn his attention away from the girls, but still he'd grown so bored there was nothing else to amuse him in the lunchroom so he tried to pick up on what was being said by the girls, which wasn't hard as the girls tormenting you clearly shouting so as to try and further embarrass you in front of everyone in the cafeteria.

                                                                        ((Your POV))

 "Jesus, you look pathetic, did you just fall out of bed this morning or something? Well, that would explain your resting PMS face."

        One of the girls who stood in front of you looked at her classmate who just insulted you and spoke,

"Hey don't be too hard on her, that look takes confidence you know. I know I would never have the courage to leave the house looking like that."

"You know now that I think about it, do you even have a house? God knows it's more likely that your poor ass rolled out of a trailer park this morning. But hey, that's probably where you belong anyway."

        Their scathing words elicited some chuckles and gasps from people sitting in the cafeteria around you, still, you weren't about to let some petty gossip get to you. Putting on a thick mask of indifference you finally spoke up,

"Don't you three have better things to do? Like, touch up your makeup, or fail your classes, or smoke in the girl's bathroom something like that? I think you should go do that instead."

        The three girls started laughing at you, but you just rolled your eyes, you'd been in this situation so many times before that it all felt like clockwork at this point. One of the girls mocked you for your weak come back, but you weren't really paying attention. Why would you care that some girls who you barely knew decided that some petty superficial thing about you warranted a full-on roast session, which would eat up about three minutes or so of your lunchtime, you would tell them to fuck off, they would give their final roast before leaving you alone?

        You may have been new to this school, but your more introverted personality and wallflower tendencies caused you to distance yourself from others, and it was nearly impossible for you to keep friends for very long. Before now you were homeschooled by your parents, but they decided to move you to a regular school so you could make some friends and get used to working with others before college. In your experience, it was just safer to spend your life alone, rather than in the company of others who would only hurt you. The three girls gave their final taunts before sauntering off back to their table, you didn't really hear what they said, but the gawking stares of over half the cafeteria did legitimately make you feel uncomfortable. So instead of going through the lunch line and finding some empty table to sit at you decided to skip lunch and sit outside alone and to just read a book or something to pass the time.

        The school had a little area outside the cafeteria called "The Green" where students could eat outside if they chose to on some picnic tables, or to sit by themselves under the trees on a bench. While the bench wasn't the most comfortable place to spend your lunch period, but still it was better than going to the cafeteria and looking for a place to sit there. A bit of time passed before you noticed someone was walking over to The Green, more specifically to speak with you. Looking up you didn't recognize the person's face, much like most of the student body here. You figured it was possible the two of you shared a class or something, but you definitely didn't know this kid's name. You didn't say anything to him and waited for him to greet you,  
"Salutations."  
You didn't know what to say to this kid, or even why he came up to you out of nowhere, but he was still standing right in front of you, so you figure he must've wanted something from you.  
"Hey."  
"Can I sit?"  
You didn't say anything in return, just pushed your stuff off the bench, clearing out a place for him to sit down. He took the seat.  
"I don't think I've seen you around here before."  
"That would make sense. I just started school here a couple months ago."  
"Your parents just move in?"  
Shaking your head you put the book you were holding back in your backpack before answering him.  
"Nah, nothing like that, I just started here because my parents homeschooled me before now."  
"Why'd they stop?"  
"Something about wanting me to make friends and getting used to other people before college. No offense or anything, but I didn't exactly ask to start school here."  
The kid smiled,  
"Makes sense, don't see many people liking up to go to some public school in the middle of who-gives-a-shitsville Ohio."  
You smiled at him, this was the first time since you started a student had bothered to be nice to you, before now people mostly just acted indifferent to your presence, or pretended you weren't there at all.  
"You got a name?"  
"JD, you?"  
"(y/n), have you been going to school here for awhile?"  
"Nah, I and my dad move around a lot, all part of his work. I've stopped bothering to try and count how many different schools until graduation."  
"Well, then I guess you won't bothering to remember this place."  
"Yeah, I thought the same thing too."  
You looked over at JD, a little bit puzzled,  
"What do you mean by used to?"  
"Well as cliche as it sounds, back at the start of the year I met this girl, and I really thought she was going to be the one to remember, the one to make all the bullshit of high school worth it. Guess how well that turned out."  
Sensing some bad memories you didn't want to press the kid too much on whatever it was that made him so upset, but still, you did like talking to him, so you tried to keep the conversation going.  
"Well I mean obviously there must have been something else that kept you interested in staying here? I mean look at where you are now."  
JD didn't answer you, he just looked into the distance, nowhere in particular.

"Isn't it crazy how even after people stop caring about life we still force ourselves to move ahead? I can't remember the last time I really felt like I had a reason to go on."

        By now JD was looking at you with a half amused-half-despaired look on his face,

"And yet here I am, still moving forward on this bitch of an Earth."

"Are you sure?"

        JD looked over at you a little confused by your words, and even a little bit offended,

"Yeah my life is shitty and it's been this way since forever, the fuck do you mean "Are you sure"?"

        You answered in a slightly apologetic voice,

"Look, I didn't mean to say you don't have a hard life, I get it, you do, but still, I just thought, you know what never mind. Forget I said anything, I think lunch is going to end soon, I should get going."

        You stood up from the bench, but before you could leave JD he reached out, and held onto your wrist, stopping you from leaving him,

"No, I want to know what were you going to say."

        Huffing lightly, you wished you'd just dropped this clearly sore subject and didn't press this poor kid on the matter. but still, you crossed your arms over your chest answering him,

"Well I just wanted to say that no one person is going to magically fix your life, and we don't exactly choose who stays or leaves us in life. But you know what, you seem like a cool kid, and you're too good to sell yourself short, all because one girl doesn't dig you anymore. I think I heard some people talking about her, Veronica, I think was her name. Look, I'm she's great, but she's probably not worth tearing yourself apart."

        JD felt a wave of unpleasant feelings wash over him at the mention of his ex's name, still, he looked up at you, wanting you to continue,

"Yeah what about her?"

 "Well, I just figured that since the two of you were together you must've felt something right?"

"Maybe then, but that's all gone now, even if I did "love" her or whatever it clearly doesn't matter, she hates me and there's nothing I can do about it."

        You awkwardly smiled at him, and patted his shoulder,

"Look, I get it, your girlfriend broke your heart and now that she's gone your life feel empty and icky all over. But look, just try to let time heal you."

        His face read of perplexity,

"What do you mean?"

        Checking your wrist watch you saw that the bell had rung a few minutes ago and if you didn't hurry now you would be late for class.

"Look JD I'm sorry but I gotta go now! I hope I'll catch you later."

        ((JD's POV))

        With that, you left him all alone on the bench. 'She doesn't get it, I've felt this way all my life, how could time ever help me now? It's never helped before.' He bitterly thought to himself, but he figured you were right about one thing, his life was way better when Veronica was a part of it, and now that she was gone nothing felt right. 'Maybe I don't need to fix myself here, maybe I just need to find a new "Veronica" he mused to himself as he pulled out a cigarette before taking a long drag and exhaled. "I mean that new girl is pretty cute, maybe she's what I've been looking for all along.' The boy thought to himself, and in the instant, JD became certain that he wouldn't find personal rest until you were his, and for the first time in what felt like ages a smile began to stretch across his face, 'Is this what it feels like to have a purpose in life? It feels so good to feel this way again.'  
((Your POV

        Hoping off the bench you shared with the boy you made your way back to class, joining the swarms of students all going their own separate ways. At first, it was hard for you to force your way into the direction you were going, considering all the students who weren't helping you out by blocking your way. Eventually, when the bell rang and classes started you groaned to yourself, 'Looks like I'll be late to class after all.' You turned around to go down to the office to get a pass to class when you accidentally bumped into two students, much taller than you who were talking in the halls. You may not have intended to bump into them, but still, you figured it would be a better idea to apologize than to ignore them,

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I didn't see you there, my bad!"

        You were about to try and move past the two students, who now that you were looking directly at them you could see they wore football jackets, and looked exactly like what someone would call a jock stereotype. 'Wait I think I know these guys, they're seniors, Kurt and Ram I think?' You could only pick up their names because you'd heard lots of girls in your class gossiping about the two of them. A lot of girls at this school, both upper and lowerclassmen were attracted to the two of them, and while you personally didn't see why, it wasn't had to imagine why someone else would. Just before you could manage to slip by the pair they stopped you, the one you were pretty certain was Kurt spoke up first,

"Hey I know who you are, you're that weirdo Junior who just transferred to this school."

        Ram raised an eyebrow turning to his friend,

"Just transferred in? Where did you go to school before here?"

        You were about to answer when Kurt interrupted him,

"She was homeschooled, I heard her parents were a bunch of freaky cultists, and they've been the head of some doomsday cult whose members pulled off some bank heist a couple months ago."

"That's not true!"

        Ram chuckled,

"Oh yeah? Then where did you come from before here?"

"That isn't any of your business-"

        You tried to explain yourself, but Kurt cut you off,

"So what you're saying here is that you can't actually prove that you didn't come from inbred hippie clan before you came here?"

        Groaning you tried to just walk past the two of them when Kurt stuck his foot out tripping you, sending you falling right down to the tile flooring. The two of them laughed as you scrambled to pick yourself up, grabbing a couple of papers which fell out of your bag and skittered across the floor. 

"What are those? Plans for your cult's next robbery? Or are you going to bomb it this time."

        After you grabbed the rest of the papers you got to your feet and were about to walk away when you saw, right before your own eyes JD with a gun in his hand, pointed right at the two bullies. 

"When are you too dumbasses going to learn you can't get away with picking on people you think can't defend themselves?"

        Looking up at the two jocks you could tell they weren't fleeing, but still, even as they tried to hide it you could still tell the two of them were scared. Kurt responded,

"You've already tried that on us once before we know there's nothing in there!"

        JD smirked at the pair,

"You really wanna press your luck on that?"

        The two bullies began walking away from JD in your direction Ram looked down at you,

"Even if you are a cultist you're better off staying away from that kid. Marilyn Manson Jr. over there ain't nothing but trouble, ask Veronica if you don't believe me."

        And without another word the two bullies cleared out. JD looked down at you, the smirk never leaving his face,

"You know they actually were right for once, these are just blanks. Here let me help you up."

        JD put the gun back in his pocket and extended his hand to you in an effort to help you up. You took his hand, but the sight of the gun made you a little less sure of whether or not you wanted to stick around any longer. 

"I gotta get to class."

        Hurring off you thought you heard JD say something behind you, but you didn't bother looking back. Ram's words kept repeating in your mind. JD must have built a rep up for himself as some kind of dangerous killer during his time here at school. Which was odd because he told you earlier he had only started attending school this year. 'What exactly did this kid do to make everyone hates him so much?' That was something you both wanted to know the answer to, and at the same time really didn't want to think about. 

        The rest of the day went on with much less excitement compared to the beginning, you didn't talk, or even see JD for the rest of the day, but that didn't stop you from thinking about him. For some reason or another, you couldn't get that idiot out of your head!

        'Maybe people are just spreading rumors about him because they don't get him.' You posited to yourself as you got ready for bed that night. It seemed that everybody in your school had a knack for drama, spreading rumors and lies, and making their lives much more complicated than they needed to be. 'I bet all that tough guy facade he was putting on in the hallway was probably just a front to cope with the fact that he has no friends.' That seemed like a logical conclusion to make, and judging the conversation you shared with him earlier it didn't seem entirely impossible either.

        That night when you went to bed the last thing you thought was wondering what it would be like to date him. High school dating wasn't really anything you'd thought about before like it was even an option for you at homeschooling, but still, now that you were at a real school the idea of starting a romantic relationship with someone sounded nice. A romantic relationship with JD in particular. The more you thought about him the more you started to realize one, very obvious fact. You were totally falling in love with him. 

        The next day at school you were expecting the same treatment from others as you experienced every day before now, but the thought of getting to talk to JD at lunch made the idea of having to deal with annoying classmates not seem so bad. To your surprise, however, when you got off the bus and entered school, people weren't treating you with indifference or contempt, instead, people were acting more, avoidant. It wasn't something you noticed immediately but slowly you noticed, like how people seemed to clear away from you wherever you went, which seemed a bit odd, but nothing major. It wasn't until later that you figured out that there was something going on here. All throughout the day, you could hear people whispering about you when your back was turned, but when you looked over at them they would immediately stop, which made you certain that they were talking about you.

        You remember reading somewhere that the only thing worse than being talked about, was not being talked about. Right now you wouldn't really agree with that, because being talked about, but not know why was eating you up inside. For the rest of the day, it felt like you could feel the eyes of everyone in the student body focused on you. Judging you. It felt terrible, and you decided that you needed to find out why.

        While you were walking to lunch you saw Ram in the hallway and, while you didn't know for sure you were almost certain that he had something to do with this. Walking over to him he looked a little uncomfortable being around you, and at that moment you were certain he had something to do with it.

"Hey, Ram!"

        You called out from across the hall, he tried to pretend that he didn't notice you, but you weren't about to let him get away that easily,

"Ram! Look at me!"

        He looked over nervously before running the rest of the way down the hallway,  were about to go after him when you felt someone's hand on your shoulder, stopping you. Turning around you saw JD, 

"So I guess you've noticed the student body decided to make you the new pariah."

        You were relieved that someone finally was talking to you,

"Yes! People have been avoiding me like crazy all day! Do you have any idea why?"

        JD nodded,

"Yeah, but come walk with me you're going to want to hear the whole story."

        JD walked you down to The Green, where he told you that ever since your little encounter in the hallway Kurt and ram had been spreading the rumor that you were the one who pulled the gun on the two of them earlier that day. They were trying to convince people that you were actually some kind of crazy delinquent who had to be homeschooled before now because you were a major sociopath, and your parents thought you would be a hazard to the other kids. Not only that but some other kids were trying to spread the rumor that you also tried to sell them drugs, and only pulled the gun on them when they tried to report you. From what JD told you there were a lot of different versions of this story going around, and none of them made you look very good.

"You're serious! That's the reason everyone at school's been avoiding me? What kind of idiot would buy that ridiculous story anyway?"

        JD shrugged,

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the collective IQ of this school is not exactly above falling for petty insults."

        Burying your head in your hands you groaned in frustration at the whole situation. You'd always know high school kids were cruel, but you'd never experienced anything like this before.

"Makes me wonder if it was even worth coming to a public school in the first place."

        JD put a hand on your shoulder, in a comforting gesture,

"Hey if it's any consolation, I'm pretty sure you aren't the only one."

"They hate me."

"They aren't worth shit anyways."

        Letting out a half-hearted chuckled you asked,

"Do you think two months is too soon to transfer out?"

"You really think transferring is the best way out of this situation?"

        Siting up to meet JD's eyes you raised an eyebrow, a little confused by what he was saying here,

"What do you mean? I mean, the entire student body hates me and thinks I'm some kind of lunatic? Why should I bother sticking around now?"

        A mischievous smirk slowly graced across JD's features,

"Well, it is my personal opinion that you are gravely underestimating the value of revenge."

"Revenge?"

        He nodded,

"Yeah, I mean Kurt and Ram are the ones who put you in this mess to start with, don't you think it's only fair that you get them back?"

        At first, you were going to brush his suggestion off as nothing more than more pointless high school melodrama, but the more you thought about it the more you slowly began to agree with him. He continued,

"Think about it, if we don't do something to punish them, then they're just going to go around doing the same thing to others. You're not hurting them by getting revenge, you're helping everybody else."

        Biting your lip in contemplation you began to think about what he was saying to you,  
"What did you have in mind?"  
He was happy to see he now had your full attention,   
"Sleep a little goop from the chem lab into Kurt and Ram's energy drink after practice, and while the two of them are blowing chunks you and me take a picture, slip in a couple of lockers, and let the student body take it from there.

"Are you sure it's worth it? I mean we could get in a ton of trouble for this if we're caught, that'll only make things worse for us."

        JD stood up from the bench winking at you,

"If we get caught. Look I'm not going to force you here, all I'm trying to say is that we seem to have found ourselves in a nice position to enact a bit of karma. Now, are you with me?"

        He had you convinced. Standing up your full height you looked at him with a smile,

"I'm with you."

        And without warning, he tilted his head down and kissed you, only for a moment, but still, you were more than happy to return the favor. You held his head in your hands as the two of you slowly broke apart. He whispered in your ear. 

"Meet me in front of the boy's locker room after school at three."

        You were a little surprised,

"You really thought all that stuff up quickly."

"The minute they messed with you I knew I had to make them pay."        

        You flushed lightly at his words, 'Looks like I'm not the only one here with feelings.' You thought sweetly to yourself as you left The Green, yesterday's fiasco gave you the incentive to get to class early, to avoid any more trouble coming your way. 

        The school day couldn't pass soon enough, all throughout the day the only thing you could think about was how badly you wanted to meet up with JD and watch Kurt and Ram get what they deserve. Even though the two of you were now technically couple you found yourself remembering what Ram had said to you yesterday. That thing about avoiding JD, but you only thought of this for a moment before clearing the thought away as nothing more than some annoying high school jock trying to keep you isolated and miserable till you graduated. These thoughts only made your hatred for the duo grow stronger, you couldn't wait for their karma to finally catch up with them. 

        Eventually, Three o clock did roll around, and you wasted no time getting down to the Boy's locker room as quickly as you could. You didn't have a watch on but you assumed maybe three minutes had passed before you saw JD making his way down the hallway, in his hand 2 electric blue colored sports drinks in hand. When he came a little bit closer you spoke to him,

"What took you so long getting down here?"

"I had to stop by the chem lab on my way down, I had to make sure these were perfect for Kurt and Ram, you know?"

        For the first time all day you started to question JD and wondered exactly how far this revenge of his would go, and you cautiously eyed up the two bottles before speaking.

"What were you doing in the chem lab? What did you put in those bottles?"  
"Oh a little of this, a little of that, it's all safe, I know that much."  
You gave him a weary look, but only responded,  
"If you're sure, and you know that the two of them will drink it?

"I've seen the jocks all over the school addicted to this stuff, and I've seen Kurt and Ram drink it too, I bought some from the cafeteria after school and dripped a bit of that stuff I whipped up in the lab into them."

        JD seemed a touch irritated by your questions,

"Look don't think too much about it, all you need to know is that it's called and if you must know I only put in a little bit, just enough to get them vomiting all over the place."

        You wanted to trust JD on this, but you had to ask, your eyes never leaving the bottle,

"And you are sure this stuff's safe?"

"Of course it is! Look we're just going to give them a little bit, that way they can embarrass themselves all nice and proper and can have a turn knowing what it feels like to be the school's punching bag for a while. No harm no foul!"

        Taking a deep breath you nodded, and he seemed pleased that you were done questioning him for now, he continued,

"Alright now as you can see coach is in there, so we can't just go in and put the bottles in their lockers, what we have to do is lure him out and slip the bottles in while he's not looking."

"Do you know which lockers are theirs."

        He nodded,

"Alright, leave the distracting to me, I'll get him out into the hall so you can get in there. Don't linger alright, come back out when you're done."

        He hid the two bottles in his coat and pressed himself up against the lockers to hide. You called out to Coach Karr asking to talk with him, while he seemed a little confused as to why a female non-athlete student would want him but complied none the less. You talked to him for awhile asking him what sports he would recommend for a new student, when and where teams were practicing, that sort of thing. After a little of this, you saw JD make his way out of the locker room, signifying to you that he had finished up his part of the plan. 

        Apparently whatever it was Coach Karr was doing in there wasn't terribly important because he wandered off to the teacher's lounge and never came back out. You and JD hid behind two big plastic bins meant for athletes to throw their towels into and waited for Kurt and Ram to show up. JD whispered to you,

"You remembered your camera right?"

"Yeah, I have it right here."

        You pulled the old camera out of your bag, JD smiled,

"Good, we'll need that when the two of them show up."

        As if on cue the two jocks wandered their way into the room, talking to each other about their latest workout. The two boys didn't question when they opened their lockers and saw the bottles looking back at them in fact when they saw them they didn't waste any time before tearing the bottles open and polishing off half the bottle in one gulp. You wanted to ask JD if that was too much for them to drink, but a low guttural groaning sound coming from Kurt and Ram stopped you. Getting your camera ready you couldn't help but smile as you saw the two boys gripping their stomachs. 'Here it comes!' You thought to yourself, but unfortunately for you, what happened next, was not quite something you were ready for.

        Instead of throwing up the two men simply toppled over dead, with two ungraceful thumps. You were completely stunned, you had no idea what to make of the situation, but JD grabbed you firmly by the arm and lead you out of the room. You had so many questions you wanted to ask him, but you completely lost your ability to form words and simply followed JD out of the building and into his car. You looked over at JD, speaking in a soft voice, 

"Did we just kill Kurt and Ram?"

        He wouldn't look at you. Slowly you could feel your fear and anger at the situation build,

"Answer me!"

        Instead of nodding his head, he just looked at you smugly,

"Oh what and are you going to pretend that you didn't want them dead?"

"Excuse me!?"

"You said so yourself, Kurt and Ram had it coming, you wanted this just as much as everyone else in the school did! Don't look at me like I'm some kind of monster for actually taking the initiative!"

        You couldn't believe what you were hearing.

"I didn't want them dead! I just wanted them to know what it felt like to be in our place for a change!"

        JD rolled his eyes, he clearly didn't believe you, but you didn't care at this point, whatever romantic feelings you had for JD before were dead and gone now. You glared over at him and spoke in a bitter tone,

"Well if I wasn't certain about transferring before, I think I've made my decision now!"

        To your surprise, JD actually laughed at this,

"Oh yeah sure that one student who everyone in the school knew was bullied for being a sociopath transferred out of school the day after the two kids she hated the most die, yeah, I'm sure no one is going to question your story."

        You hated him, but you knew he was right, now that the two of them were dead you were sure to be the number one suspect, and who were you kidding, you were way more than a suspect now. Not even bothering to hold back your tears now you covered your face with your hands,

"God I can't believe this is happening! What the hell do I do now!?"

"Stick with me. Don't ever leave me."

        Looking up from your hands, you weren't sure what to say to this.

"What do you mean?"

        JD looked back at you with dead seriousness, he took your hands in his.

"Stick around with me. I'm the only one here who can protect you from everyone else."

"Like hell, I need your protection!"

"Maybe not now, but what's going to happen the next time someone at school starts spreading rumors about you? You don't want to deal with this situation again, only with the poison in your drink. Nobody else here loves you. Nobody else here matters. It's just you me, understood?"

"I..."

        JD was done with your uncertainty,

"I said understood!"

        He pulled your hands closer to him, and the rest of you along with them, he looked into your eyes, almost daring you to defy him. But you wouldn't. Now that you knew what he was capable of, you wouldn't dare go against him ever again.

"Understood."


	3. Out of Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character: Luke Castellan
> 
> Musical: The Lightning Thief
> 
> Line Inspiration: "So I'll do anything, I don't care if I hurt anyone, It doesn't pay to be a good kid, a good son!"
> 
> Season: Summer
> 
>  
> 
> So I wanted to mostly keep the story contained to musical Luke, but since he wasn't in the musical too much I decided to use the Percy Jackson book series too, so this story will take place at the start of the Lightning Thief and ends around the beginning of the Last Olympian (give or take) Also Luke's age is kind of debatable, but for this story he's about 17 at the start and in his 20s by the end. Also, the chapter gets kinda NSFW at the end, so consider this your warning.)

"(y/n) come here, I have something I want to tell you about!"

"Hold on I'll be right there!"

        The sudden loud voice calling your name from outside the greenhouse startled you, causing you to nearly drop the heavy metal watering can you were using to water the flowers you'd been tending to since the start of summer. As a child of Demeter, you loved to immerse yourself in nature, and preferred time spent tending to plants and flowers over weapons training and battle strategies. You were so focused on giving the last few plants their morning shower that you completely forgot that someone called your name and it wasn't until you heard a loud knocking at the greenhouse door that you remembered.

"Sorry I'll be out in a second!"

        Putting the watering can down on the ground you wiped the sweat which had begun to accumulate on your forehead ever since you stepped into the humid greenhouse. Rushing to the door you were instantly delighted to see your longtime boyfriend Luke waiting for you, smiling you closed the door to the greenhouse and began to walk away from the building with him. 

"Can we make this quick? I'm not supposed to leave the greenhouse for another hour, and I don't want to get caught sneaking around."

"You're really going to prioritize some plants over me?"

"I absolutely am."

"Well then don't be surprised when you wake up one day with all your plants tipped over."

        You narrowed your eyes at Luke,

"If you so much as lay a hand on a single one of them I will personally set you on fire little man."

        Luke laughed, 

"I doubt you even know how to work a lighter, flower child."  
"Look just forget it! What is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Wait, not here I want to tell you somewhere more private."

        Luke broke out into a full run in the direction of the Hermes cabin, with you following close behind. Luke actually wasn't running to the Hermes cabin, but behind it, a place where not a lot of people hung out. As children of the god of thieves people didn't really like to just hang out there unless they were Hermes kids themselves. Kind of unfortunate the Hermes kids got stuck with such an unfortunate stigma, but they didn't seem to mind too much. After taking a moment to catch your breath you spoke,

"So what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"I got a quest, my first quest!"

        Your jaw dropped,

"No way! Who from?"

"It was from my dad."

        You were a touch surprised by this but chose not to say anything out loud, you always knew Luke had a rocky relationship with his dad, and it was definitely a sensitive subject, so you decided it would be for the best to avoid that.

"Do you know what you have to do?"

"To find a golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides."

"That's so cool!"

        Luke raised an eyebrow and gave you a skeptical look,

"Do you really think it's that cool?"

"Of course I do! Why shouldn't I?"

"Well, I just thought it would be a little better to get a quest no one has ever gotten before you know? You don't think he doesn't think I'm strong enough to do something better do you?"

        You couldn't help but laugh a little, taking Luke's hands in your own you gave them a gentle squeeze, 

"Listen, you may be over thinking things here Luke. Are you really going to assume that Hermes gave you a quest only completed by Hercules before as a sign that he thinks you're weak?"

        Luke's face brightened a bit and he smiled, and you felt a soft blush creep across your cheeks,

"You're right, I must be a little bit nervous here."

"Do you want me to come with you? I know I'm not the best fighter here, but I could try and help. I know it's not my quest, but I just want to help you out here."

"No!"

        Releasing his hands on your own it was hard not to be a little offended by his abrupt answer.

"Are you sure? It never hurts to have another person on your side for quests and stuff, even if I do end up eaten by monsters, it wouldn't be so bad so long as I knew you made it out OK!"

        You were joking, but you could tell Luke wasn't in the mood to make jokes about this,

"Listen (y/n), you and I both know that you're garbage at combat, and I don't want to know what would happen to you if we got in a fight and I wasn't there to protect you-"

"I'm not that weak!"

        You didn't mean to sound so defensive, but you, along with the rest of the Demeter cabin were usually labeled as the cowardly medics who were too fragile to handle real combat. Admittedly you weren't the most skilled in combat, and you could tell Luke was about to tell you he why you should stay home but you interrupted him,

"Hear me out, I'll work as a defense and you be the offense! If we just work on some strategies before we head out then we could totally handle this!"

        Luke didn't seem convinced and you sighed, hanging your head in defeat.

"I know you only want to help me out, but please, stay here. I just don't want to see you in harm's way in this quest."

        Luke brought you into a tight hug, and you hugged back. You knew there was no changing his mind at this point and the best thing you could do now was just show your support and be there for him when he came back. You pulled away some and kissed him on the cheek, 

"If I can't be there for you physically just try to think of me whenever things are going wrong for you. I'll be listening, and I'll pray to my mom to watch over you while your away."

"When she learns how to use flowers to fight off a dragon then we can talk."

"Will you stop bad mouthing flowers already! What did they ever do to you, huh? You're going to hurt their feelings."

"They have feelings?" 

"Yes."

        For the rest of the day the two of you spent as much time together as possible, and when it came time to go to bed that night you couldn't get to sleep and you wondered if it was worth it to try and sneak into his cabin to try and convince him to take you with him one more time, but you decided against this. Largely for fear of waking up a cabin full of tired Hermes kids wasn't something you wanted to deal with, and after a little more tossing and turning you finally managed to fall asleep.

        The next day you were disappointed to find out Luke left camp earlier that morning, remarkable considering how late he typically woke up. For the rest of the day, you tried not to think about Luke too much, but life without him at camp just felt so much less interesting without him around. The two of you had been living at camp half blood for so long now, over half your life at this point to be at camp and not be with Luke. The two of you had just sort of always been there for each other ever since day one you wondered how could you continue life if Luke never came back.

        The first day of Luke's absence was definitely the worst, but as the days continued things got a little easier the more time passed. Missing him never disappeared altogether but you could finally focus on other things for awhile and tried to continue your business, as usual, the best you could. Things always seemed their worst at night for some reason, as you continued to wonder how Luke was handling himself at night.

        After 9 long, torturous days apart Luke finally returned to camp half-blood, and you made certain you were the first person to greet him when he arrived. Eyes shining with excitement you sprinted down from the greenhouse to the tree upon a hill to meet up with Luke. The moment you saw him you wanted to throw your arms around him and kiss him and ask him how his quest went, but the moment you got close to Luke he took a few steps away from you, and then you saw it. Running down below his eye to his chin was a long scar.

"Oh, Luke..."

"What?"

        He glared at you with a kind of contempt you'd never seen from him before. His words were laced with ice and you had no idea what to say. For a moment the two of you remain frozen there, his angry eyes directed at you, paralyzing you with shock.

"Tch, whatever."

        Luke turned around and walked away from you.

"Wait Luke come back!"

        You tried to follow him, but he didn't respond and left you standing alone. Several other campers saw what happened and looked at you with pity. So many questions buzzed around in your mind and you knew if you didn't get somewhere private soon you would start crying, and that was about the last thing you needed right now.

        Running to the greenhouse you sat on the ground, hugged yourself as tight as you could and curled into a little ball. 'Why did he look so mad at me? What gave him that scar on his face? Should I try and go back and check on him?' 

        Ultimately you decided against trying to go and talk o him after that, as the two of you were going to see each other in the mess hall that night for dinner anyway. When the time came you looked around the hall for any sign of him, but you realized he was probably skipping out on dinner tonight. 'He just needs some space right now, you're better off leaving him be than trying to force him to talk.' 

        You noticed some of the campers who saw Luke brush you off when he arrived home out of the corner of your eye and it looked like they were whispering to each other behind your back. Suddenly you felt as though the entire room was looking right at you and with a great discomfort you left the room. You weren't used to people paying so much attention to you, and it was more than a little uncomfortable.

        Naturally, you wanted to go to the greenhouse to spend a bit of time alone when you saw Luke walking towards you. 

"Luke?"

        He ignored you and walked right past like you weren't even there at all. For a second you were hurt, but anger almost instantly overshadowed the hurt you'd been dealing with all day. Not letting Luke get away from you a second time you walked up to him, gently touched his shoulder to get his attention,

"Luke just talk to me please!"

"You really can't take a hint can you?"

        Luke stopped so abruptly you nearly stumbled into him, but after regaining your balance you glanced at him and saw the same dark glare you saw from him earlier, but you weren't going to let that distract you again,

"Why are you acting like this? What the hell happened to you while you were away?"

"What do you think?" 

        He pointed at his scar,

"I failed my stupid quest because I was too weak OK! Are you happy now?"

"Luke, stop it, you know you're not weak, just because you failed the first time-"

"Just because I failed the first time!? Are you really that dense? Failure shouldn't have been an option in the first place! And here I am getting pity glances left and right and getting followed around by some useless flower child too incompetent to know how to fight for herself"

        Now tears began to fall down the sides of your face freely, but Luke didn't care, he just looked at you with more hatred the longer you stood there.

"Luke, what's gotten into you?"

"The truth."

"What?"

        He let out a petty scoff, crossing his arms over his chest,

"Look this may be hard for you to wrap your tiny brain around, but I'll say it slow for you. The gods, they don't love us. The gods don't care about any of their kids, they don't want to protect them, deal with them, nothing."

"Luke, that's not true!"

"Whatever don't believe me, but you'll learn soon enough, the gods don't care if you live or die. They never loved you, and you know what? I'm not going to stick around here waiting for another quest that never going to come."

"You're leaving?"

"Took you long enough to realize."

        Any sensible person would've walked away at this point, but you just couldn't, all your life you'd known Luke as the kind of person who would always be there for you. True he always hated how the gods seemed so indifferent to their kids, but nothing to this level, this just wasn't Luke.

"Please, just listen to me, I know the gods aren't always around when you need them, and that sucks, but you can't leave camp because of that one thing! People here care about you, I-I love you, Luke!"

        You tried to take a step forward and hug him, but he pushed you away. Nearly sending you falling to the ground, but you somehow managed to hold yourself up.

"Funny you should say that (y/n). My dad used to tell me the same thing."

"Luke, please you're not making any sense here-"

"It's over."

        The moment his words left his mouth your heart skipped a beat and you felt as though your blood turned to ice, you winced and studied his face, praying that somehow this was all just wasn't true. Like he was doing all of this to play a sick joke on you, but that his feelings for you were still true, but you knew he wasn't kidding. The harsh glare across his face never once alleviating,

"I'm going out tonight to hunt down the beast that did this to me. Do me a favor and don't follow me, you'll only slow me down."

        With those final scathing words, Luke walked away from you and the rest of camp. You wished you had the strength to pull yourself together, go after him and convince him to stay, but the sting of rejection left you frozen in place, paralyzed. Only now did you register the tears which soaked your cheeks, you weren't sure how long you'd been crying, but you didn't even care, the one person you loved and cherished the most left you to pursue some quest given to him by a god he didn't care for any more than you. 

        After a while of hugging yourself tightly and trying to stop the tears you exhausted yourself and only then did you trudge back to bed, completely heartbroken.

        The next day many campers were alarmed to discover Luke left campgrounds to go complete his quest, campers, and counselors alike. Some people tried to approach you to ask if you knew where he went, or why he left campgrounds, but you just shrugged them off, saying you knew nothing about where he was since he wouldn't talk to you all day. Your story seemed to give a satisfactory answer to all who asked, and to those who were suspicious were considerate enough not to press you further on the matter, sensing even if you did know if likely wasn't something you wanted to talk about.

        Well not entirely, at the end of the day you were able to avoid inquisition from nearly all of your fellow campers, however after dinner when you were getting ready to head back to your cabin to get ready for bed you were stopped by Chiron, a person who you knew a great deal about, but not so much personally. He approached you with a more stern and cautious expression than you were typically used to see from the typically jovial counselor. 

"(y/n) a word with you? I'll only be a moment."

        You nodded and followed close behind him as he walked away from the other campers in the mess hall to an isolated little area where the two of you could speak privately. You knew instantly he was going to ask you about Luke, but that didn't change the fact you really didn't want to talk about him. The entire day just seemed so... tiring. The time spent away from Luke while he was on his quest was nothing compared to this, back then you could at least find solace in the notion that he would eventually return to you. Now, however, you knew he would never return to you, and part of you wanted to hate him for hurting you like this, but you just couldn't, not yet anyway. More than anything right now you just want to go find him and make sure he was safe.

        Chiron stopped walking when the two of you finally found the place he wanted to talk to you at, and you snapped out of your thoughts. Trying to maintain a neutral expression, like you had no idea why he bothered to make sure the two of you were alone before talking. 

"Listen, (y/n) I know this day hasn't been very easy for you, and I know you've told others today that you have no idea where Luke is, but I want to ask you myself. Please, if you have any idea where Luke could be right now it is of an imperative that you let me know."

"Why?"

        Chiron took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair before continuing.

"I know you've known Luke for a long time now, so you should know as well as anyone that he was a very... troubled young man. He had a lot of anger to the gods, and so much hatred within a young person is never a safe thing."

        You raised an eyebrow,

"He's already 17, he's not a child."

"Maybe so, but you need to understand Luke may know how to fight well, and he may know how to put up a strong fight against monsters and other beasts, but he has yet to learn how to control his emotions. I fear that if something powerful, perhaps something else who wished to see the gods suffer, were to detect such power and hatred in Luke, he may find himself in over his head."

        You sighed, as much as you were upset with Luke you didn't want to see him hurt, and you weren't about to let that happen because you were currently fighting with him. Biting your lower lip in hesitation you responded,

"Alright, it's true I did see Luke last night before he disappeared. It was just after dinner, about this time when I saw him walking all alone. I don't know where he was going but I managed to stop him and talk for a little while. I asked him what was wrong and he just kept going off about how the gods didn't love us or weren't here to protect us, and he just kept getting angrier and angrier. He... he told me he was going back out to go and kill the dragon that gave him his scar."

        Chiron took in all this very solemnly, as though you were confirming something he feared to be true, but wanted to believe wasn't. You continued,

"I swear, I tried to go with him, I wanted to help him out, but he told me I would just slow him down, and that he never wanted to see me again... and after that, he just disappeared."

        You could feel tears threatening to resurface, but you tried to force them back down for the sake of your own dignity. Nevertheless, Chiron sensed you were clearly very emotional about the night before, his expression softened some, and he tried his best to calm you down a bit,

"Thank you (y/n), you don't need to share anything else if you don't want to, you've been very helpful. You can return to your cabin now if you wish."

"Wait before I go can I ask you something?"

        For the first time that night a smile crossed Chiron's face,

"What's on your mind?"

"It's just that, I know you and the rest of the counselors are probably really mad at Luke for doing this, and I know it's really bad that he broke the rules and all, but please, don't go too hard on him for all of this. You said so yourself, he's going through a lot, and he may not always know how to handle his emotions too well, but please he doesn't need another reason to believe he isn't loved. I did everything I could to convince him otherwise, but... it's just not enough. All I ask is that you welcome him back, don't cast him out like his dad did. Please, that's all I ask."

        Chiron didn't say anything in response, but he nodded understandingly, and you felt this convinced you more than anything he could've said that Luke was safe here. In fact, you were almost a little ashamed you suspected Chiron would ban Luke from camp in the first place. 

        Thanking Chiron for his time you made your way back to your cabin so you could begin preparing for bed, saying a silent prayer to the gods that they watch over him while he was away, and that they would help him find his way back to camp soon.

(Time Skip Several Years Later)

        With a heavy sigh, wiping the sweat from your brow and stepping out of the medical cabin you'd spent all day working in you walked away from the building, and needed to get a bit of fresh air into your lungs after spending so much time cooped up inside all day. Walking away from the cabin a little further you found a nice quiet spot on the grass, close to the border where you began to unwind. Stretching your legs out you sat down, the muscles in your legs relishing in the relief you found in this after you'd been standing for so long. Staring up at the moon you smiled, for all the changes and turmoil you went through on earth you took solace in the moon and her stars, for no matter how horrid things on Earth felt, she would always be there, watching over you. 

        To say a lot changed since Luke left you was an understatement, in all honesty, you felt as though everything about life at camp had changed since Luke's departure. War had broken out between the gods and the Titans, and all the demigods at Camp Half-Blood were given the tall order of fighting, or in some way helping on behalf of their parents, however just because they were given the order did not mean all obeyed. Some demigods were traitors and decided to fight on for the Titans, all under the command of possibly the most detestable and selfish person you knew, Luke.         

        For a while, after he left you continued to pine for him, and prayed that one day he would return, however, those bitter days were over now, and the only feelings you had for Luke now were feelings of hatred, contempt, and unrelenting rage. He was the monster that started this horrible fight, the battle which wounded and killed so many good people, and that was unforgivable.

        While he became the master of the Titan's side of the war you upheld the mantle of a position, a perfect opposite to his. As he lead the defensive for the titans you continued to train and hone your skills at Camp Half-Blood and eventually your hard work paid off and you became one of the most skilled medics, spending nearly all your waking hours toiling away in the camp's hospital. You'd chosen this position because, while handing the hurt wasn't a challenge for you, the active combat, the sight of all the violence and danger petrified you, and at the end of the day you had to admit this really was the best place for someone like you. Simply put, you weren't cut out for active work in the field, and it was counter-intuitive to try and force yourself to take up work you were wretched at.

        While you lovingly stared up a the moon you felt your eyelids grow heavy and you were overcome by the desire to stretch out on the soft, lush greenery around you and fall asleep, but you forced yourself to stay awake a little while longer, if only to enjoy a rare moment of solitude, just a little longer. Eventually, though you were powerless to fight off sleep any longer and found yourself laying back into the grass, allowing sleep to overcome you when the sound of uneven, labored footsteps broke through the silence. Alerting you to the presence of another instantly. 

        Nervously you scanned the area around you, in search of the intruder, hindered slightly by the low lighting around you, but after a bit more scanning you spotted a figure in the distance. In the low light, all the details of the person were washed out in black, but you could tell it was a human and not a monster, furthermore, by the way, they limped painfully slowly, they were likely severely wounded. 

        Standing upright you were weary to whoever it was approaching and you nervously called out,

"Who goes there?! What business do you have lurking around camp at this time?"

        Straining your ears a little you could just barely make out the stranger's response, 

"Pl-please, I come in peace! Just let me in, I'm hurt here, and I need help!"

        The voice was hoarse, and the words interrupted by ragged panting, not only was this person hurt but they also clearly were walking wounded for some time now. Instantly you raced outside of camp's border to greet the person, and to your complete shock, you discovered this person was the stranger, but someone you never expected to see back at camp, Ethan Nakamura.

        Ethan as you saw him now looked nothing like how you remembered him when you last saw him all those years ago. You and Ethan were never close, but you did know him as, handsome, a little older than you, and a child of Nemesis. One thing you remembered about him the most, however, was how he seemed to exude this "cool" energy, his slick black hair, and indifferent attitude, which made you a little too intimidated to ever really approach him and try and make friends. He was much closer with Luke, and it was through Luke that the two of you ever met in the first place, as he was stuck in the Hermes cabin for a long while before his mother claimed him. 

        Now as you looked at him, his clothing and armor torn and caked with blood, dirt and other kinds of filth, his slick black hair matted, hanging around his face sticking out in all directions. He still had his shield slung across his back, and his sword in its holder, but that didn't seem like much to make his presence look any better. The sight of one of his eyes missing frightened you most of all though and you had to try very hard not to stare. Gingerly you tried to help him upright and led him closer to the camp when out of nowhere he tensed up, falling to the ground landing heavily on his knees.

"Ethan! Are you OK? Lean on me, let me help you back to camp-we're almost there, just a little more!"

        You leaned down closer to help the boy up when in the blink of an eye Ethan stood back up to his full height before pushing you down to the ground, causing the wind to rush from your lungs, and you to lay there dazed and confused as he stood over you. Before you could try to get up you saw him cast a bizarre white powder over your face, which caused your movements to grow sluggish and the sleep you fought earlier in the night to begin to return, and it wasn't long before you lost conciseness completely.

        Before your sight returned to you, other senses slowly began to awaken as you slowly awoke from your most unwelcome slumber. The sound of fire crackling, accompanied by the sporadic warmth of a fire encircled you, instilling a pleasant, outdoorsy aroma into the air. Some kind of soft material, silk, or satin, or something like that lay below you, instantly informing you that you were no longer in camp. Slowly you began to open your eyes, and drink in the sight of whatever foreign location you were in. At first, you thought you were taken prisoner by someone loyal to Kronos's army and you were being held captive for interrogations, but as the world around you slowly came into focus you realized this place was way too nice for any kind of interrogation.

        The walls were a rich golden, their illumination accented by the glow of the fire, the only light source in the room. Sitting up you realized you were laying on a lavish, crimson-colored bed with silky sheets and fat feather pillows. Looking down you were alarmed to discover the clothes you were wearing earlier were gone, replaced with a pure white toga, with a dark brown leather belt wrapped around your waist, securing the garment to your body. Although to the room looked so lovely you couldn't help but find the place unnerving and unnatural, after spending so much time in the humble comforts of camp, the room just felt so bizarre to you, and unnatural. Not to mention the uncomfortable presence which coated the room, causing your hair to stand on end and an uncomfortable lump to form in the back of your throat. 'Something isn't right about this place, I can't tell if something's already here, or if something's coming, but I don't trust this.' 

"You're awake, how nice. I was growing tired of waiting around for you to wake up, but it's nothing I'm not used to from you I'm afraid."

        The suddenness of the voice caused you to jolt in shock, and you immediately turned your head in the direction of the speaker, finding your enemy Luke Castellan standing in the doorway, and much like Ethan, the time away from camp greatly changed the man you once thought you'd loved. He looked older, obviously, but more specifically, more cynical, not too far from what you would've expected him to look like in all honesty. He wore a traditional white tunic, a masculine version of what you wore and black leather sandals, the same kind of tunic you'd seen the gods wear in statues and paintings, tied loosely around his waist, and dropping down to his knees. Something rather odd, as you'd never seen Luke in anything but regular clothes, but that was tertiary to the difference you instantly noticed in his eyes. The sight of his eyes terrified you deeper than the sword which lay sheathed at his side, yet still intimidated you nonetheless. Simply put, those were not the eyes of Luke, there was some kind of unnerving, madness which just barely concealed itself, and poised ready to escape at any moment. Luke smirked, cocking his head to the side,

"Miss me?"

"Luke! What the hell am I doing here!? Wh-where is here?"

"You're home darling. You're in the home of the titans-my personal chambers to be more specific."

        Looking around uneasily you felt more repulsed by the room now more than ever, and you self consciously hugged yourself tightly.

"You mean to tell me they built you a room all for yourself? A child of their sworn enemies?"

"Oh (y/n), you really know so little... It'd be cute if it weren't so pathetic."

        The weakness you'd accidentally shown melted away as you angrily glared over at Luke, your arms falling from their original position and balling into fists at your sides.

"Cut the act, Luke! Tell me what is going on! I want to know exactly why you brought me here!"

        Luke sighed,

"I see all that time you spent at Camp Half-Blood did little to teach you some proper manners when addressing a superior, how predictable."

"Answer me!"

        Luke raised an eyebrow, and for a moment you feared he would lash out at you, and you began to regret not bringing a weapon along with you when you stepped outside the border of camp. 

"I can see all that bravado you put up is just a facade my dear, I can feel the fear within you. Do not be afraid, Luke-I won't harm you. But if you would like to know more about the truth of this war, and not just what lies are told to you at that camp, please sit down with me, and we can talk like adults."

        Luke made his way over to the love seat which sat behind a coffee table and some other chairs, he sat down and patted the space beside him, calling you over as though you were some kind of lap dog. Narrowing your eyes you stiffly walked over to him, only rather than sitting beside him you perched atop one of the comfortable chairs beside it. He pouted childishly at this and addressed you, in a mockingly hurt voice,

"Why so cold daughter of Demeter? You haven't seen me in years, and I don't even get a kiss hello? I'm hurt~"

"Luke-or whatever it is speaking to me right now-"

        You were cut off by the sound of Luke's laughter, something which caused the unworldliness of his voice to stand out even more, not to mention disturb you further,

"Don't be afraid my sweet, I promise I am every bit the Luke you knew all those years ago and a little more!"

"More?"

        You intended to mutter that last little bit to yourself, however to you dismay Luke heard and you watched in confused horror as a flash of golden crossed his blue eyes in a most inhuman and unnatural manner. 

"More powerful, more resilient, now that Kronos lives within me, there is no opponent who has a chance in stopping me from defeating the gods! Delivering the justice and pain they deserve!"

        Before now you'd tried to hate Luke, tried to convince yourself he was nothing more than a cowardly traitor, willing to do whatever it took to get revenge on his father, but now... the only thing you felt for Luke was pity. You knew ever since the day he returned to camp that there was something different about him, there was some kind of evilness inside of him, but was it really evil? Looking into his eyes now you weren't sure if he really was doing all of this out of anger, or out of sorrow.

"But Luke, aren't you afraid? What if your plan does fail? What if the gods kill you for all of this- or what if their children find you and kill you for starting all of this!?"

"I am not so weak as to cower before an army of unloved children! There is no demigod alive I couldn't defeat, single-handed! I could end your life right now if I so chose to."

        You had only a split second to process his words before you watched as he unsheathed the sword, Backbiter and slowly walked over to your spot in the little sitting area. While you were greatly scared by the sight of the weapon, you felt as though you were better off staying put and remaining still, as opposed to trying to flee, then you were certain you would see Luke's sword on the offensive. He gazed at you with narrowed eyes, a subtle smirk twisting at the corners of his lips as you remained frozen in place, your eyes never once leaving the dreadful sword's wicked tip. Holding your breath you watched as the tip slowly inched forward until it nearly touched the thin, vulnerable flesh of your neck, you wanted to swallow the lump you felt forming in the back of your throat, but you were paralyzed. You felt as Luke, with surprising tenderness lifted the sword to the bottom your chin, guiding you to gaze directly into his eyes, and while you tried desperately not to show him just how horrified you were, you were certain the vile titan within Luke saw how you truly feared him and drank it all in.

"Are you afraid of me (y/n)?"

        Your jaw trembled as you answered him,

"I fear what you have become."

"You should."

        Stealing your nerves you spoke in as level a voice as you could muster, doing your best to maintain eye contact with Luke.

"I want to speak with him, Luke. Can you let me speak to Kronos directly?"

        An amused smile crossed Luke's face and you felt your heart skip a beat as the pressure on the sword increased.

"Really now? You fear what lurks within me, yet still, you wish to converse with him? You've certainly changed for the better darling."

"Can I speak with him?"

        Luke nodded and for a moment dropped the sword from your neck level, causing you to take a deep breath, allowing some much-needed oxygen back into your aching lungs. Luke looked like a limp puppet for a moment, head dropped, arms weak at his sides, and for a split second, you wondered what came over him before a powerful jolt overcame the blonde's body. 'This has to be hurting him! There's no way he doesn't hurt from all of this!' You leaned forward in the chair, arm extended to Luke, when in the blink of an eye he snatched your wrist, pulling you to your feet, meeting him at eye level, his arms wrapped around you, pining both your arms to your side as you stared into the eyes of Kronos himself. His eyes were a golden color, even brighter than his hair, beautiful, but repulsive all at once. 'These are the eyes of a monster, his real inner demon.' You thought to yourself. 

"Kronos speaking, how may I be at your service, darling?"

        You shuddered a little, that voice! It was skin crawling and unnerving, to say the least, and the way he echoed that pet name Luke had for you... it all felt so frighteningly wrong.

"I wanted to ask you why I'm here. I think you can tell me better than Luke, and I want to know the real reason."

"You are a weakness of his, something which holds him back from enacting the vengeance he truly desires."

"He desires, or you?"

"Does it really matter?"

        'I suppose not.' You thought bitterly to yourself, for a moment you tried to wriggle your arms free from Luke's hold but to no avail, you were totally stuck, and you could tell Kronos was amused by your struggling, relishing in the omnipotence he felt at finally holding his host's weakness in his clutches.

"Perhaps you should've left camp, you could use a bit of strength training, I can tell you're trying, but I'm afraid you can't escape us so easily."

        Your movements ceased when you felt "Luke" lower his head to your neck, inhaling deeply and sighing,

"Typically the smell of that accursed camp half-blood would repulse my master, yet he adores the way you wear it. Like you're still that sweet, little seventeen-year-old he left behind all those years ago. It's cute."

"Wait, you told me I'm Luke's weakness, I want to know why."

        Kronos pulled his head away from your neck and pressed his forehead to yours softly, closing his eyes.

"You see, the Luke who hosts me is strong, you should know that much. He's resilient, loyal, and so nearly perfect, but there is still one thing which holds him back from accepting me from taking over and destroying the world. And that my dear, is you."

"Me?"

"You see our little Luke, as much as he may say otherwise, is still attached to you, and so long as you stayed at that horrible camp, he just couldn't let me take over. You have this presence over him, it's what attracts him back to camp, that's why you're here. If you agree to stay with us and take up the mantle as Luke's queen there will be nothing stopping him. No more attachments, no more weakness."

        Suddenly you felt Luke's arms drop away from you and you sighed in relief, the being possessing Luke, however, still had his full attention on you, and smiled maliciously extending his right hand for you to shake,

"So what do you say, darling? Will you stand with Luke and help us destroy Olympus once and for all, fight back against the gods, and kill all who stand in our way?"

        You narrowed your eyes, slapping away the monster's hand.

"Never! The gods aren't evil, and their children don't deserve to die!"

"I was so hoping you would say that, my dear, ~"

        Your eyes were once again focused on Backbiter, but to your surprise, the creature didn't raise the object to harm you, he merely laughed.

"What are you doing? I don't understand why you're-"

"Ethan, Selena!"

        You heard the monster call out, only this time in Luke's voice, and when you returned your eyes to Luke's face you noticed the golden in his eyes was replaced with his typical blue. Two people, your former camp mates Selena and Ethan stepped into the room, they too were wearing the odd Roman garb you and Luke wore, only Selena's dress was a soft pink, and Ethan's garment was twined gray.

"It would see the hostage needs a bit more convincing before swearing allegiance to us. So, how about we target camp half-blood next? I've no longer any reason to spare that hellhole, so I want you to tell our forces to attack there next, full force. I want the place destroyed understood?"

        The two nodded robotically and were about to turn and walk out when you called out desperately,

"Wait! You two can't honestly go through with this, can you? Think about this, if you bring that place down there'll be no going back, just think of the damage!"

        Luke laughed at this,

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Ethan, Selena, you are dismissed."

"Wait please, stop!"

        You were about to run after the two when a firm hand latched on to your wrist, pulling you back to Luke's side.

"You see what you've made me do? But your resistance must be punished, and if I must spill the blood of every half-blood who remains loyal to the gods that I'm afraid you leave me no choice."

        Tears pricked in the corners of your eyes as you glared at the murderer beside you,

"Then kill me already! For the love of the gods just get it over with!"

        Luke's face morphed into one of fake softness,

"Kill you? I could never! What do you take me for, some kind of monster?"

        He chuckled at his own joke, before walking back over to the love seat, sitting down and dragging you down beside him.

"You see some of them could be spared... Not the gods of course, but if you submit to me now, I may show mercy to their children, spare their poor pathetic lives. We will need servants when the gods fall and our world dawns anew. So, why don't we just avoid all this petty bloodshed, hm?"

        'He's lying you know he's lying!' You thought to yourself, shifting slightly in the seat, feeling Luke's hungry eyes scanning your body. But still, he persisted, moving his hand from your wrist to the side of your face, he gingerly cupped your cheek, turning your face to look only into his eyes,

"Submit to me, and you could save the lives of thousands, continue to resist, and they shall suffer. It's all up to you."

        Swallowing hard you closed your eyes, all too aware of the heavy, shameful blush which spread across your cheeks, you nodded your head. Too disgusted by yourself to put into words what you just agreed to. You could hear Luke chuckle softly as he pulled you onto his lap, so your legs straddled his. Luke linked his arms across your lower back to keep you upright, but you had to place both your hands on his shoulders to keep your balance, opening your eyes you could feel his arms squeeze your body closer to his,

"I'm sorry, what was that? I don't think I quite heard you there."

"I-I accept. I'll submit to you, but you have to promise me that you won't go out of your way to attack the children! This is not their war!"

        You pleaded, searching Luke's eyes for any sign of compassion, only to find... nothing but lust staring back at you. 

"If you submit to me, prove it. Kiss me."

        'I was afraid you would say that.' You thought to yourself before squeezing your eyes shut and leaning in to give Luke a quick peck on the lips, however, the moment your lips made contact with his, the hands which rested on your back moved to the sides of your face, keeping you locked in place. You tried to pull away, but now that you were in Luke's control, he wasn't about to let you go. He kissed you with a hunger, your kiss finally satisfying a deep need of his, which lay dormant for years.

        Luke opened his mouth, pressing his tongue against your lips, which you shakily allowed him to pass, allowing his tongue full access to your mouth. He took full advantage of this and began to roll against your motionless one, begging you to join in, and for fear of the consequences you shyly did, not matching his fervor, but enough to entertain him.

        Breaking the kiss Luke moaned lowly, grinding his hips against yours, making you fully aware of how much he appreciated the kiss the two of you shared, his hands traveling down the sides of your body, stopping at your hips where he began to massage and rub your skin, begging you to join him. Not sure of what to do you just twitched nervously, having no idea just how far Luke was planning to take this. You got your answer when his hands moved from your body to unto the belt at his waist, causing the leather strap to be immediately discarded once undone.

"Follow me to the bed."

        Swallowing hard you nodded and stood up, allowing Luke to rise from the couch, pushing you forward to the bed, when you walked close enough to the bed with your back to Luke you heard the sound of clothes rustling followed by the feeling of his hands busily undoing the belt around your waist. Biting your lower lip, you didn't try to stop him, if this was the sacrifice you needed to make to ensure the safety of others than you would. Once the belt was gone you pulled the dress over your head, standing fully naked in front of Luke. You felt his hands around you once more, pulling you down on his lap as he sat down on the bed.

        For a moment he just held you, nuzzling his head into the space between your head and your neck,

"I can tell your heart is still beating so quickly, are you afraid of me? Or are you excited for what is to come?"

        At first, you didn't answer but the sudden sensation of Luke's teeth biting into your skin caused you to yelp in shock and pain.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm just nervous, I wasn't seeing anyone else at camp, and I'm not used to... intimacy like this!"

        Your breath hitched as he whispered in your ear,

"Don't worry, I promise you, I'll be gentle."

        Without another word Luke pulled you down onto the bed, as he straddled your hips, teasingly he toyed with the flesh between your legs, causing you to squirm beneath him,

"Don't act so innocent, you and I both know you'll be enjoying yourself soon enough, just take a deep breath, close your eyes and pretend you're back in that greenhouse you love so much. Just think about all your pretty flowers and the pain will be over soon enough."

        You squeezed your eyes shut and braced yourself, and sure enough, an unknown pressure overcame you, and you had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from shouting out. Luke let out a grunt and a moan before pushing deeper inside you. Trying to take deep breathes you had almost no time to adjust as Luke began to pound against you, your head was spinning and you couldn't help but succumb to the pleasant sensation rapidly overshadowing the pain you felt. The friction continued to build and you allowed yourself just for a moment to forget the world and succumb to primal pleasure.

        You weren't sure exactly when but at some point a desperate need to release overcame the two of you, and you began to roll your hips against his, savoring every sensation. He picked up on this and he captured your lips in his once more, only now you readily joined him, knocking your fingers through his hair. Your muscles began to tighten of their own accord, all you could think about was how badly you wanted him, and at the moment you were certain you couldn't hold yourself together a moment longer you felt your pelvis release, the orgasm hitting you, overcoming your body with carnal pleasure as you continued to rock your hips against his to ride out the sensation a little longer, Luke felt as you climaxed around him and he pulled out, the friction causing him to empty his seed along your thighs, and lower stomach.

        For a moment the two of you lay just like that, panting, trying to regulate yourself after just an event was much harder than you thought. Eventually Luke crashed into the spot on the bed beside you, pulling you into his chest, kissing your head softly,

"I've waited so long to see you like that, naked, submissive and begging for more, you really are quite the show-girl you know that."

        You felt his chest rise and fall as he chucked to himself. You, on the other hand, were not feeling quite so high spirited, as you lay motionless in a monster's arms, praying to the gods that they might look down on you with mercy, and forgive you for what you'd just done.


	4. Not Kinda Into (the SQUIP)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character: The SQUIP
> 
> Musical: Be More Chill
> 
> Season: Fall
> 
> Line Inspiration: "You can't just listen, you have to obey."

       Among all the places in your school, there were very few which you found more detestable than the hallways. Unlike many of your peers, you honestly didn't mind classes too much, and you found that so long as you worked hard and paid attention in class there wasn't anything to worry about. Classes weren't the enemy here, your peers, however, were quite a different story. To put it politely, you weren't exactly a popular kid, despite being a part of the student body ever since freshman year you never found a "group" to call your own, and you mostly just kept to yourself. It wasn't because you didn't like your classmates, or thought you were above them, it was just so hard to relate to these people sometimes, and you weren't very good at reaching out to people to form friendships all on your own.

        Some people at school thought because you never tried to interact with others you thought of yourself as "too good to hang out with everyone else", but deep down, you just wished you had the confidence to get out of your shell and make some friends before the spring when you graduated and left this place for good.

        It was almost ironic really, that people thought you were too full of yourself to try and befriend others when in reality you'd spent almost two years now crushing on one of your classmates, Michael Mell. You couldn't say for sure when you first started liking him, or if you always had, but one thing you knew for sure was that at this current moment you were head over heels for this guy. He just seemed so charming and upbeat it was impossible not to feel a bit uplifted yourself when around him. Even though almost everyone else in your class had him pegged as a total nerd, you didn't care what they had to say. In your eyes, he didn't deserve all the teasing from his more popular classmates, if only you had the confidence to tell him that yourself.

        If you had the courage not only would you ask the guy out, but you would also defend his name the next time you passed other people in the hallway gossiping about him. But as things currently stood, people already thought rather little of you, and you didn't need to give people another reason to think less of you. This was the reason you hated the hallways so much, constantly hearing these high school snobs speak poorly about a wonderful person made you livid, but the fear of judgment and gossip made you complacent, which you hated yourself for. Still, no one could stop you from daydreaming about one day asking Micheal out.

        The notion of asking out Michael was something which you mostly saw as "a nice idea", but not really something so easy in practice. The possibility of rejection filled you with a crippling fear, which never ceased to cause you to choke up and chicken out whenever you tried to work up the nerve to try and approach him. 

        Opening up your red locker, you began to pull out all the books and binders you would need to complete your homework that night. It was the end of the day and other students filled the halls, conversing before going home, staring at their phones, etc. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two kids having a hushed conversation very close to your locker. At first, you were confused as to why these kids were talking so quietly when you were so clearly within earshot, but then you realized your open locker hid you from view and they likely didn't hear you before they started their conversation. Typically you weren't the type to eavesdrop in on other people's conversations, but you couldn't help but allow your curiosity to get the best of you, and you found yourself stopping what you were doing and listening in for a moment.

"You really think this thing is gonna help me out? Like, can you guarantee this will get Christine to like me?"

"Dude, don't sweat it I promise you it's a miracle worker!"

        You recognized the first voice instantly as Jeremy Heere, the only other person you'd seen who hangs out with Michael regularly. In your opinion Jeremy was a good kid, he wasn't a jerk or anything, he never tried to stir up trouble or anything, he just seemed like a decent person, and you respected him for that. The other person you didn't know so well, but you at least identified quickly as Rich. You didn't know him too well and didn't really seem too different from any of the other loud party kids in your grade. 

"What is this thing called again?"

"It's called a SQUIP, it stands for Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor."

"And you really think this thing is going to help me get more confidence, be more, whatever it is you think it will do?"

"Be more chill, and yeah, but I'm a total nobody, why would-"

"Do you remember how I only transferred to this school this year?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Freshman year at my old school I was in the same boat as you, a total loser."

"Thanks..."

"And all it took was one pill and now I've got a girlfriend, invite to parties, I could go on, but just take my advice, you'll thank me for this."

"If you say so..."

"Oh, I almost forgot! You can't just take the pill, you need to wash it down with Mountain Dew. Don't try anything else, and it needs to be regular green Mountain Dew, or else it won't work."

        You strained your ears a little harder to try and hear what was going on, but you could only hear some odd rustling and then heard Jeremy walking away. Rich started to walk away too, however, he walked closer to your direction, and the moment he walked past he noticed you,

"How long have you been there?"

"The entire conversation."

        Rich looked a little distressed at this, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. 'He must not want anyone finding out he wasn't already a cool kid at his old school.' You weren't exactly in his social circle, but you'd heard other people mention how Rich liked to talk big about being a big player at his old school,

"Look, you can't tell anyone about what I told Jeremy about my old school OK! Promise me that!"

"I can... for a price."

        He looked more confused than mad at this,

"A price? What do you want?"

"I want a SQUIP."

"What?!"

"Listen, I'll give you the money for it if you want, but I want you to get me one. If that's too much could you just tell me how to get one?"

        To your surprise, Rich looked relieved and pulled a little plastic baggie out of his back pocket before holding it out to you.

"Just have this one. SQUIPs come in packs of two, but you only need one for it to work. Jeremy already paid for one and I was just going to throw it out if you really want one you can have it. But you have to promise if I give you this you won't tell anyone about what you heard, or about SQUIPs, got it?"

"Yeah, I promise."

"Oh and take my advice, you're gonna want to wait until you're home and away from other people when you take this if you still want it that is."

        Rich gave you an annoyingly challenging look like he was asking you to reject his offer, but you weren't about to back down. If this little pill was your golden ticket to finally getting Micheal to notice you, it didn't matter how much it hurt, you were ready.

"I want it."

"Alright then, but just don't forget the Mountain Dew OK?"

        You nodded and Rich handed you a the baggie before walking down the hallway, leaving you all alone in the hallway, staring at the little grey pill in your hand. 'I bet it doesn't even work' you thought cynically to yourself before stuffing the thing into your jacket pocket.

        After packing up all the school supplies you needed for the night you began your drive home, the tiny pill in your pocket never once leaving your mind the entire ride home, stopping at a gas station along the way to pick up the oh-so-important-Mountain-Dew. Upon arrival, you briefly questioned whether or not you should bother trying to get any schoolwork done taking the pill, but you almost instantly refuted the idea, figuring that you wouldn't really be able to focus on anything else anyway until you took the SQUIP.

        Hesitantly you popped the pill into your mouth and took a big swallow of Mountain Dew to wash it down. When you couldn't feel the effects instantly you drank about half the bottle, then waited about half an hour before finishing the entire bottle and still feeling nothing.

"Ugh! I'm such a idiot! Why did I let myself think this stupid this would work!"

        You angrily said out loud before throwing the empty bottle into the recycling bin. You sat down at your desk deciding if it really was a bust you might as well get some work done rather than just sit and mope. The moment you pulled out your laptop to get some work done you felt something feverish and dreadful begin to bubble inside your stomach.

        Standing up from your desk you heard your chair tip backward behind you, and you gripped your stomach tightly, letting out a tense groan of discomfort.

"Does this mean it's working?"

"Subject female, located."

"What!?"

        The pain in your stomach began to seep into the rest of your body and the sound of an unidentifiable artificial voice caused you to panic, only increasing your pain.

"Calibration in the process, please excuse some mild discomfort."

"Who are you? Mild?"

        Another jolt of pain shot through your body and you had to grip your desk just to remain standing on your own two feet, gritting your teeth so as not to let out too much noise. 'So this is what Rich must'have meant when he said to avoid public when taking this thing.' You thought bitterly before another spasm rippled through your body.

"Calibration process complete, access procedure initiated."

        The pain lessened some and you tried to stand up,

"It's over?"

"Discomfort level may increase."

        The second spasm of pain hit you and you toppled over, holding your head in your hands with your eyes firmly shut. For a second you thought the throbbing in your head was going to melt your brain, it seemed like the pain would never end. Until in a single second, all of the discomforts vanished instantly.

"Accessing neuro memory. Accessing muscle memory. Access procedure complete. (y/n) (l/n), welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor. Your SQUIP."

        Opening your eyes slowly you pulled your head up and looked in front of you, seeing a man you'd never seen before. He wore a black suit and a black tie and stood completely nonchalantly like there was nothing odd about the situation at all. The figure had dark eyes and dark hair, and you were distracted by his admittedly good looks before the gravity of the situation hit you.

"Who are you!? How the hell did you get in here!"

"I am you're SQUIP. You were the one who activated me, you wanted to activate me so you could get the attention of a boy in your class, Micheal Mell, is that correct?"

"Um, yeah it is, but how do you know all that?"

"I'm a supercomputer, when you activated me I scanned your memories and saw your interaction with Rich. Well played using his insecurities to get your way by the way. Very smooth."

"W-wait so you're like a computer in my brain?"

"Yes."

        Your eyes widened and you felt yourself flushing slightly in embarrassment,

"So you just read through all my memories instantly?"

"Think of it like scanning computer files, I'm just here to do my job."

"Well, why didn't you ask me before doing something so personal!"

        The SQUIP raised an eyebrow, 

"Did you read the packaging on my box before activating me? If you read through it fully you would know I only did so to better understand you and to help you achieve your goal. A courtesy, nothing more."

        Your bit your lower lip and narrowed your eyes a little at the figure, suddenly wishing you weren't so impulsive in your decision in taking the SQUIP.

"Reading over someone's memories seems like the opposite of a courtesy to me..."

        The SQUIP sighed before offering you a hand to help you up off the floor.

"Listen to me (y/n) if you really want this boy, you'll do whatever it takes right?"

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"Then you need to stop being so afraid and start working to get his attention. If you just keep lurking around like an invisible loser he's never going to care about you. He'll never notice you until you start doing what I say. Now, are you ready to get to work?"

        Taking a deep breath you took the SQUIP's hand and stood up.

"I'm ready."

        The SQUIP was about to say something else when he noticed you,

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not wrong, it's just that, I mean, you don't look like the type of person who'd know how to get a teenage girl popular."

"Do you not like the way I look?"

"No! No, you look great! Keep this for sure!"

        The SQUIP didn't say anything in response, but you could've sworn you saw him trying to conceal a smirk. 'What was I thinking, this guy knows exactly how to get attraction from the opposite gender.' He turned and walked away from you before begging to go through your drawers and clothes.

"What are you doing!?"

"You're not going to get anyone's attention if you keep dressing like a nun in an abbey. Let's see what we have to work with..."

        You wanted this to stop, but you were the one who activated the damn thing in the first place, for better or worse. Things did begin to feel a little awkward after awhile, him just going through your clothes with you standing awkwardly behind him.

"Do you have a sister or something? Someone you could borrow some clothes from?"

"It's just me and my mom actually."

"You know that may actually be an improvement."

"Hey!"

        For the rest of the week The SQUIP began to carefully monitor your behavior at school, making changes to the ways you carried yourself, dressed, talked, that sort of thing, and you had to admit, you could definitely tell the advice he gave you changed the way people acted around you. At first people didn't notice your change in attitude, but over time things started to change. Little things like waves in the hallway became people starting conversations with you before class became people asking you to sit with them at lunch. 

        One minor set back to all of this was that although the majority of people at your school were starting to notice you, Michael was not one of them. The attention was nice and all, but you decided you'd had enough beating around the bush and confronted the SQUIP as to why Micheal didn't treat you any differently.

        You had activated the SQUIP long enough to know that although you could see and talk to him, others couldn't, and if you wanted to talk to him, then you had to be sure you were alone, or else you would look like a lunatic talking to yourself. That was an awkward experience you only needed to deal with once to learn to never do it again. After thoroughly surveying the area you found a quiet place outside near the music room, a place free of any students who could possibly over hear you and your conversation with the SQUIP. Without being called the SQUIP materialized in front of you,

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I activated you so I could get Michael's attention, you know that right?"

"Of course."

"Then why hasn't he noticed me yet? It's been like a week and nothing's changed between us!"

"You do realize that if you want to date this boy you'll need to approach him, right?"

"That's why I have you around! I thought you would help me ask him out or something, what gives?"

        The SQUIP was silent, arms crossed looked at you with a hard to read expression and cold gaze,

"And you're really sure you want this boy?"

"Yes! Why do you keep asking me this?"

"Because you can do better."

"Excuse me."

        The SQUIP smiled at you in a gesture which probably meant to comfort you, but for some reason it had the opposite effect, and it just unnerved you. He took a step forward and wrapped an arm around your shoulders,

"Let me put it to you this way, there's a lot of potential in you (y/n), and I mean it. If you let me take control, you could have any boy you wanted in no time. You really are better off just forgetting about this kid and... well upgrading."

        You took a step away from him,

"What are you trying to say here?"

        The SQUIP turned so you were facing him, both arms firmly planted on your shoulders,

"Listen to me, people like Michael, they'll come and go, don't limit yourself to that. Wouldn't you rather take the whole school loving you over one guy? I mean think about it! You already know what it's like to walk the halls as a nobody, if you pick Michael, you'll go right back to that, but, if you chose me, you won't ever have to feel unwanted anymore."

        You wanted to brush his words off as nothing but pointless flattery, but he could tell he was slowly starting to get through to you. Moving his left hand from your shoulder so it rested on the side of your face, softly cupping your cheek he continued,

"Wasn't it nice to finally get the attention you deserve from others? If you let me take over, you can have all that and more, all you'll need to do is move on, it's that easy!"

"It is nice to feel wanted around here... and I guess it was nice to not deal with drama for awhile..."

        The SQUIP was about to say something when the sound of footsteps interrupted him, and distracted you causing you to try and find the source. Your eyes instantly lit up as you say Michael walking out of the school's front doors, he was walking away from you, but impulsively you decided to act instantly.

"Hey Michael!"

        Your classmate jolted slightly in shock before looking in your direction, smiling awkwardly when he saw you making your way over to him. 'OK that could've been smoother, but you're going to help me out with this right?' you thought to yourself, only to receive no answer. 'Hello, are you on?' Only then did you notice Michael was giving you a questioning look for calling out to him and then total silence. 

"Right, hey how's it going?"

"Fine... how are you?"

        'So do you want me to start and you'll jump in?' You thought, but still to no avail, you swallowed hard and all your insecurities about asking out a boy began to resurface, but if the SQUIP wasn't going to help you, then you were going to have to figure this out yourself. You noticed he had his head phones on and worked to get a conversation started from that,

"Awesome! I just wanted to ask what you were listening to."

"It's Bob Marley, I've been really into him this year, do you listen to any of his stuff?"

        'The SQUIP wouldn't give a direct answer here, should I try and be funny?

"Yeah, my mom's a big fan of his, but I don't know him that well, more of a pinwheel for him you could say."

"A pinwheel?"

"Get it? She's a big fan, and I'm less of a fan... like a pinwheel..."

        'BAD CALL, BAD CALL SAY SOMETHING ELSE!'

"I mean we do have a bunch of his cassettes around though!"

        'Is he going to think I'm weird for still having cassettes around' You only thought this for a moment before a smile crossed his face,

"I have all his music on cassettes!"

"Maybe I could come over to your house and we could listen to his music together, I mean if you want to! I'm totally not trying to invite myself over or anything I was just thinking we could just I don't know do something low key? Me and you?"

        'SQUIP WHERE ARE YOU?!' You swallowed hard and prayed he didn't think you were being too awkward, but to your suprise, he just smiled and rolled with it.

"We could do that! Do have time to come over tomorrow night? I could pick you up if you need a ride."

"Yeah, that sounds perfect! Um, here let me give you my number, and I could use a ride over!"

        Granted you already had a car, but you had a feeling if your SQUIP wasn't going suddenly silent he would advise this sort of thing. You pulled out a pen and paper and wrote your number down before handing it over to him. Michael smiled before stuffing it into his hoddie pocket,

"I'll text you when I get home, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Bye!"

        Michael gave you one last wave before walking away to the parking lot. You felt your heart fluttering inside your chest, and you felt like you could just float away right then and there, you had finally worked up the courage to ask Michael out, and it worked! Only then did you realize you forgot your backpack behind the music room, and you went back to get it, back in seclusion you remembered your earlier anger with your SQUIP.

"Hey, what the hell was that! You totally blanked on me!"

        The SQUIP refused to materialize before you, but you could hear his voice in your head while you picked up your bag and made your way out to your car.

"I don't get it, just one second ago you were ready to take my advice, and yet you still let that loser drag you down."

"Don't call him that! Why are you suddenly defecting like this? Why are you so bitter about me getting Michael."

"Because it's illogical, and you can do better!"

        Suddenly you paused,

"You aren't... jealous are you?"

"I am not jealous! I am just looking out for your best interest."

"Well stop it already! I don't want to be popular, I just want Michael, but God I just want you to shut off even more!"

        The two of you continued to bicker the rest of the drive home, only when the two of you were back in your house, in your room did he bother to materialize, and now that you could see just how pissed off he looked did you regret your actions. Sitting down on your bed starring up at him you knew better than to let him try and control you now, instead you held your ground, glaring right back at him.

"You're acting like popularity is just the worst thing-"

"Oh really? Well popularity sounds like being stuck with arrogant jerks you wish you never spoke to in the first place. Sounds like what having you in my head has been like, and this is without a doubt the worst!"

        The SQUIP grit his teeth and responded in a cool, but still threatening tone.

"Trust me, you don't want to deactivate me now. You really want to be back to where you started? You'll be worse than a nobody, you'll be an ex-somebody! Not even Michael would want to be around you!"

"Yeah right-"

"(Y/n), you grossly underestimate my abilities, I'm a supercomputer, and I can read at least a thousand outcomes where you deactivate me now and end up a wreck for the rest of highschool! Allow me to show you."

        You wanted to win this confrontation, but you couldn't help but stop to consider his threats, and he was right, you were lucky enough to escape bullying from others, but you'd seen people who had it worse than you. Mental images began to flash through your head, other people shoving you into lockers, pushing you down stairs, avoiding you like the plague, and more. Each scenario which played out in your head chilled you more than the last, but the final image, one of Michael walking away from you when you tried to go and talk to him.

"Stop it, please! I'm sorry I swear I won't shut you off, just please stop doing this!"

        Just as quickly as the images started they stopped. Taking a few deep breaths to calm your nerves you pulled your knees into your chest before hugging them tightly and resting your head on your knees. You didn't look up but could feel the SQUIP sit down beside you, his hip touching yours and his arm around your shoulders. It only rested there for a moment before he pulled you down so that your head and shoulders rested on his lap as he stroked your head in an oddly comforting way.

"So, are you telling me that if I deactivate you, then any of that stuff could happen to me?"

"Well, ALL of it could happen to you. But that doesn't matter, now you know why you need to keep me on."

        His voice sounded much softer now and less threatening, but there was something off about the situation,

"SQUIP, how are you touching me right now?"

"I'm not."

"But, it really feels like your touching me, I don't get it."

"Think of it this way what you see as my human form is just like a little puppet controlled by the real me inside your head. You aren't really interacting with me, I'm just influencing what your eyes see and triggering sensual responses your body reads as physical contact."

        A red flag went off in your head telling you how suspicious it was that you had no idea how much control he actually had over you, but you didn't want to start up another confrontation. Still, there was just one last thing you wanted to discuss with the SQUIP.

"OK, I promise I won't deactivate you, but I want you to promise me something in return."

"I'm listening."

"I want you to promise me you'll stay switched off during my date with Michael. I don't want to hear a peep out of you until I'm home again, promise?"

"That's very generous of you to call listening to some old cassette tapes in a basement a date..."

"Promise me you won't activate!"

        You sat back up and held your hand your to the SQUIP to shake to signify the legitimacy of the deal, he gave you a cynical look,

"First you want me on so I can hook you up with Michael, now you don't even want me to help? I'm getting the impression you don't trust me very much do you?"

        You didn't say anything in responses, just remained frozen with your hand outstretched until he gave a sigh of defeat and shook your hand.

"Fine have it your way then."

((SQUIP's POV))

        That night while you lay asleep in bed the SQUIP remained awake, not something typically done as it was virtually useless considering since the host wasn't awake there was no action to influence. He couldn't get that question you asked him earlier out of his head.

"Are you jealous of Michael?"

        It was so ridiculous! He was a computer for crying out loud, why would he be jealous of some teenager? But then again he also couldn't fathom why you were so into him either. 'It just makes no sense! You were the one who switched me on, and yet here you were still acting of your own accord! Your only goal now should be to follow orders and obey what he commands.' He really just found you so much more pleasant when you would stop worrying about Michael and listen to him.

        This whole date just bothered him, and he wished there was something he could do to assuage her to not go and to just stay with him, but if he wanted you back under his control he would have to act as discretely as possible. But act none the less. 

((YOUR POV))

        That night as you were getting ready for your date with Michael you were questioning whether or not to consult the SQUIP on what to wear, but decided you could figure that much out on your own, just settling on typical casual wear. Still the SQUIP's voice questioned you,

"You're going on in that?"

"Shouldn't you be on silent mode about now?"

        He sounded like he was about to say something in response when you heard a car pull up in your driveway, prompting you to immediately stop arguing with the SQUIP and to rush to the front door to meet Michael.

        Walking out of the house and into Michael's ride the two of you made small talk along the way, and you realized how much sooner you should've tried asking him out. He wasn't elitist or aloof like you foramry thought, he was just a big nerd, and that was great! 

        You weren't sure exactly how much time passed, it just felt so relaxing hanging around Michael lounging in his basement listening to music, talking about nothing in particular. 

"Hey, are you hungry?"

"Um, I guess? What do you have?"

"I have sushi!"

"Eh, I'll pass thanks, I'm not a big fan of fish."

"What if I told you it was eel in the roll and not fish?"

"I'll pass, do you have anything to drink?"

        His eyes lit up at this, 'God he looks so cute when he's excited.' He stood up from the bean bag chair he was sitting on before walking over to a mini fridge he had in the corner of the basement. 

"Yeah, I have something pretty intense if you're interested!"

"Oh, I don't drink-"

"No, not alcohol, something way cooler! Mountain Dew Red!"

        He opened the door to the fridge before pulling out a 2 liter bottle and holding it up as though it were the finest Parisian wine.

"C'mon this stuff is discontinued, don't you want to try it! You may never get a chance like this ever again!"

        Chuckling you stood up,

"Alright fine you drama Queen I'll have a cup."

"Sweet! I think I have some plastic cups around here somewhere..."

        He started scanning the room for the cups. You were about to offer him some help when out of nowhere you doubled over in pain, unintentionally letting out a grunt of shock and pain. Michael instantly turned his attention back to you with a concerned look on his face,

"Hey you don't look so good do you need to sit down?"

"N-no! I'll be fine I just-"

        You were cut off by another skip of burning pain piercing through your stomach. Michael hurried over to you, helping you down to a seated position on the ground,

"Look if you're feeling sick I can help you get home, you sound really bad."

        As much as you wanted to assure him you could stay the pain stopped any words from coming out and you just weakly nodded and allowed Michael to help lead you up the stairs and out of his house. To your dismay the pain didn't stop the entire ride over and you spent the trip from his house doubled over, trying to cope with the pain.

        You stepped out of the car, managing to give Michael a half hearted goodbye.

"I'm so sory about all this, I'll text you later alright."

"It's no problem, let me know when this gets better, I'll see you later."

        Michael drove away and you limped back into your house, up to your room and instantly collapsing onto the bed. Your SQUIP materializing almost instantly,

"Back so soon?"

"Shut up. Don't pretend you didn't have something to do with this!"

"Oh sure blame the supercomputer in your head for all of this, why not."

"Shut up! Just make this pain stop!"

        The SQUIP looked at your body, tense from the pain and curled up, rather pleased with himself for finally getting you away from the basement dwelling nobody.

"No."

"What!?"

"I'm not going to get rid of that pain until you agree never to go talk to Michael again."

"Hell no!"

        The pain in your gut intensified so dramatically and without warning a shriek tore through your body before you could stop it,

"Just let me take control and I can make this all go away."

        Gritting your teeth you tried to sit up in bed but the erratic bursts of pain sent you flailing back down on the mattress,

"Rot in hell you stupid virus!"

        He didn't say anything in return, just stood over you, watching as you continued to writhe in agony, like an insect under a shoe, just waiting for the crushing blow. The SQUIP knew you wouldn't last much longer, but still it was nice to punish you for disobeying him, even if it wouldn't last forever.

"F-fine! I'll drop Michael, just please for the love of God take the pain away! I'm begging you!"

"As you wish."

        The second the pain disappeared your body went limp, collapsing onto the mattress as you panted heavily, trying to catch your breath and slow your heartbeat. The SQUIP looked down at you in triumph,

"But let's just make one thing clear here, I don't just want you to stop talking to Michael, I don't want you to date anyone else, while your under my control, you follow my rules."

        You didn't have the strength to sit up yet, so you just gazed up at him,

"Why? If you're such a powerful super computer why don't you just leave my body and go find someone else to torment?"

        The SQUIP gave you a dramatic offended look before sitting down on the bed next to you.

"This isn't torment, listen my singular goal is to improve your life. It's not your fault you developed feelings for people who are below you."

        You didn't say anything in return, just rolled over so you wouldn't have to look at his stupid face anymore.

"Even if you try to black me out, I'll still be here. I'll always be in here. You were to one who activated me, and now you and I are going to be together forever, weather you like it or not."


End file.
